Brotherly Love
by jay64
Summary: When Kurt sets Burt up with a woman down the street he never imagines that she would have a son his age. Will their budding friendship turn into something more? Loosely based on a photoset I saw on tumblr where Kurt and Blaine were stepbrothers.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone, this story is very loosely based on a photoset I saw on tumblr a while ago where Kurt and Blaine were stepbrothers. **

**Just a heads up, this story is AU. Kurt is canon except he never introduced Burt to Carol and he never went to spy on the Warblers so he never went to Dalton. As for Blaine, he has a little sister rather than an older brother. Also, he is a senior with Kurt because junior Blaine is dumb. **

**This story is T for now but will become M eventually because of smut. I'll put a specific warning on those chapters in case you want to avoid them.  
**

**Thanks a million to my beta Robin, she can be found on tumblr at the url gleecansuckmydick  
**

**I love feedback so you can review here or come talk to me on tumblr at the url imfeelinghellagood. Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

The way Kurt sees it, it isn't spying if it's happening in his front yard. Besides, it's not like he can actually hear the conversation. All he wants to know is the identity of that woman. Lima is a small town and Kurt knows practically everyone in it but he's certain he's never seen her before. Kurt shakes his head as the woman laughs _again_ at something his father said. Kurt may not have any romantic experience of his own, but he's seen enough romantic comedies to know what flirting looks like. As Burt starts walking towards the house Kurt quickly moves away from the window and heads to the door.

"So who was that?" Kurt asks the second Burt steps inside.

Burt looks up, startled by Kurt's question. "Huh?"

"That woman you were just talking to. Who is she?"

"Oh that's um Sally Anderson. She just moved in down the street," Burt responds.

"Well she's very pretty," Kurt says and quirks an eyebrow.

Burt simply grunts noncommittally and begins sorting the mail in his hands. Kurt shakes his head. His father can be so oblivious sometimes. Lucky for him, Kurt has always wanted to play cupid.

* * *

A few days later Kurt is going outside get the mail when he sees the chance to put his plan into motion. Sally is walking past the Hummel house and Kurt is about to go talk to her when he sees something that makes him stop in his tracks. Strolling hand in hand with Sally is a little girl who looks about eight. Kurt sighs.

After his dad's heart attack last year, he got it in his head that Burt needs someone else in his life. Someone who will take care of him because after this year, Kurt will be gone. Plus, even though Burt would never admit it, Kurt knows he is lonely. The similarities between Sally and the little girl are far too great for them to be anything but mother and daughter so it doesn't seem Sally is single after all. He wants to turn and go back inside but Sally is already smiling and waving at him.

"Hi Mrs. Anderson," Kurt says putting on his most charming smile. "I'm Kurt Hummel, Burt's son. You two talked the other day right?"

Up close, Kurt realizes just how stunning she is with her slender figure, wavy black hair, and striking green eyes.

"Oh hi! Yes I remember Burt, he's very kind," she says with a smile.

Kurt frowns slightly, she didn't correct him when he called her "Mrs.". This is definitely looking like a lost cause.

"This is my daughter, Maria."

Maria flashes Kurt a bright smile and shakes his hand.

"It's very nice to meet you Maria. Well I just wanted to say hello and welcome you to the neighborhood." Kurt hesitates but decides he might as well go on with his plan. She did say Burt was nice after all. "Also, I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner tomorrow night."

Sally seems taken aback but pleased. "That would be lovely, thank you. I haven't been able to get to the grocery store yet and I think the kids are tired of carry-out," she says with a laugh.

Kurt forces and smile tries not to shudder at the thought of fast food multiple nights in row.

"Great. Will your husband be joining us?" he asks with bated breath.

"Uh no. My husband… we're divorced."

Kurt can't believe it. She's gorgeous, kind, single… the perfect match for his dad! He only just manages to keep the smile off his face as he says, "Oh, sorry I brought it up. Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Around seven?"

"Sounds great. See you then," she says with a wave and continues on.

It's only then that Kurt realizes she has said _kids _as in more than one_. _His curiosity about the mystery child soon fades, though, as he practically skips into the house to tell Burt of tomorrow's dinner plans.

* * *

"Kurt! Are you even listening to me?" Rachel squawks.

"Yeah, of course," Kurt lies as he picks back up the phone. Rachel had been going on about the possible newcomers in the Glee club this year and Kurt wasn't in the mood to listen.

"Mhmm," Rachel hums in disbelief.

Kurt sighs. "Sorry. I've just been distracted about tonight, everything needs to be perfect."

Rachel hesitates, "Kurt, are you sure your sudden and intense interest in your father's love life has nothing to do with the umm… lack of your own?"

"No!" Kurt snaps.

Truthfully, Rachel's question hits a little too close to home. He will, fingers crossed, be going to New York in a year and he's never even kissed a boy. Granted, he only knows two gay guys, one being a closeted neanderthal who threatened his life and the other being a definition douche bag.

"Besides, it's not like you're the queen of successful romances Ms. Sunny-Side-Up." Kurt knows his reference to the egging by Jesse St. James is a low blow but he's too annoyed to care.

Rachel huffs in annoyance. "While I'll admit my relationship with Jesse did not end well, you seem to be neglecting the fact that I have now been in a very loving relationship with Finn for almost four months now!"

Kurt rolls his eyes. He supposes he should be thankful that Finn's name hadn't come up sooner than now considering its Rachel's most frequently talked about topic besides her "lack" of solos. His long ago crush on Finn has faded completely and he's glad that he makes Rachel happy. However, that doesn't mean he wants to hear about it all the time, and as he has often told Rachel, it's _not _because he's jealous.

When Kurt doesn't answer, Rachel changes her approach. "Look, I know you said Sebastian is unbearable but do you think you may be a bit hars-"

Kurt cuts her off before she can finish her sentence, "No. How many times have a told you, Sebastian is crude and just plain annoying. Just because gay guys are limited here in Ohio doesn't mean I'm going to go throwing myself all over the first one I see."

"I know, I know. Sorry," Rachel apologizes. "It's just… I worry about you Kurt. When we get to New York there will be plenty of gay guys and I just don't want to see you taken advantage of. Remember Kurt, you matter." Rachel, try as she might, can't help but giggle as she says the last part.

Kurt groans. What in God's name had possessed him to tell Rachel about that conversation with his dad is something he will never know.

"As much as I would love to stay here and have you express more of your motherly concerns towards me, I really need to go get started on dinner."

"Alright, hope all goes well!"

Kurt hangs up the phone and begins to rub his temples absentmindedly. Why is it that all of his talks with Rachel leave him feeling like he needs two Advils and a nap? With a sigh he pushes himself off his bed and makes his way downstairs to the kitchen.

As he starts to make dinner Kurt's thoughts drift back to his conversation with Rachel. When he thinks about it, he realizes the only thing worse than going to New York inexperienced would be giving away his first experiences to some random stranger. He wants those things to be special; to be _with_ someone special. And Kurt knows how unlikely finding his prince charming anytime soon is. Fairy tale relationships don't happen in real life, especially to gay boys in Ohio. He begrudgingly adds _getting a boyfriend_ to his ever-growing list of dreams for New York and refocuses his attention on cooking.

When seven o'clock rolls Kurt takes the chicken and broccoli casserole out of the oven and calls to Burt.

"Dad, come downstairs, they're going to be here any minute!"

"Calm down I'm right here kiddo." Burt eyes his son suspiciously for a moment. "What are you up to?"

"Oh nothing," Kurt says quickly busying himself with the fruit salad.

Burt simply crosses his arms and stares at him. "Come on, I've known you your whole life Kurt and I know when you're up to something."

Kurt sighs. "She's single you know."

Burt opens his mouth to respond but the doorbell rings before he can and Kurt goes dashing past him to answer it.

"Hello Ms. Ander-" he starts but his breath hitches as a pair of golden eyes meet his. There is a very cute boy standing slightly behind Sally and he's looking right at Kurt. Under normal circumstances, he would be aghast by the dullness of his outfit: a plain white t-shirt and jeans, but Kurt's fairly certain this boy could wear a potato sack and still look gorgeous. And those curls, holy shit those curls. Kurt just wants to reach out and touch them. Suddenly he realizes he cut off in the middle of a sentence and hastily coughs to cover up his pause.

"-son" he finishes with a blush and moves to let the family inside.

If Sally notices anything she doesn't comment and instead nods her head to the left and says "This is my son Blaine. And remember, call me Sally. Ms. Anderson sounds like an old ladies name doesn't it?"

Kurt can only grace her question with a slight nod because Blaine is looking at him again and extending his hand.

"Hi I'm Blaine. You're Kurt right?"

Kurt can only nod his mutely and it occurs to him that this kind of behavior is probably one reason he's never had a boyfriend. It's only Burt's voice that reminds Kurt that, oh yeah, there are other people around. He hastily drops Blaine's hand and is greeted with a slight eyebrow quirk from the boy which only makes his face flame up again.

"It's great to see you again, Sally."

"You too, Burt. This is my daughter Maria and son Blaine." she says pointing to each kid in turn. "Thanks for the invitation."

"Oh no problem. Although it was really Kurt who set this whole thing up," he says with a chuckle.

Kurt finally finds his voice again and squeaks out, "I'm just going to go into the kitchen and finishing setting the table. It will just take a minute." He needs a moment alone to collect himself because he doesn't like surprises and Blaine is one big surprise.

"Hey, wait up, I can help," Blaine chimes out and moves to follow Kurt.

_Shit. _So much for collecting himself. Still, Kurt can't help but smile at Blaine as he accompanies him to the kitchen.

"Well uh here. You can set these plates out on the table."

Kurt tries not to stare at Blaine's ass as he leaves the room but he fails miserably. Kurt needs to careful, if his plan works then Blaine will be around a lot more often and he doesn't want a repeat of either Finn or Sam. His gaydar admittedly needs work so unless Blaine says he's gay, Kurt must assume he's not.

"So what's McKinley like?" says a voice very close to Kurt's ear.

Kurt jumps in surprise and drops a couple of the forks he was holding. Blushing, he quickly bends down to pick them up.

"Whoa! Sorry I didn't mean to startle you." Blaine says and begins to help Kurt.

"It-It's fine. What did you ask again?"

"I asked what McKinley is like?"

"Why?" Kurt blurts out and then has to fight the urge to slap himself. Of course he will be going to McKinley now that he lives here. "I mean um it's…"_I get bullied by jocks twice my size every day, slushie facials once a week, and last year my biggest tormentor took my first kiss._ "fine." He tries for a smile but it comes out more as a grimace.

Blaine's brows furrow but doesn't question him.

"Well we better go eat before the casserole gets cold." Kurt says and all but runs out of the kitchen.

After the obligatory compliments about the food, the dinner table conversations lulls and Kurt begins racking his mind for a way to jump-start the conversation. But before he can think of anything, Sally surprises him by saying, "So Kurt, your dad tells me you're in McKinley's glee club."

"Mhmm." Kurt nods. "I love it, singing is my passion."

"Well you know, Blaine was actually in the glee club at his old school. He was the front man," she says unable to keep the pride out of her voice.

Kurt's head snaps to his left to look at Blaine.

Blaine blushes slightly and mumbles something about it not being a big deal.

"Where did you go before?" Kurt asks him.

"Dalton Academy."

Kurt looks at him for a moment before gasping slightly. He was the Warblers front man! Kurt remembers him now, one doesn't easily forget the very cute and very talented leader of the group that almost beat them last year at regionals.

"We competed against you at regionals last year," Kurt began slowly, "I didn't- without your uniform and um your hair- you just look kind of… different." he finishes lamely. By different he meant older, tanner, and if possible, even more attractive.

Blaine chuckles. "Well not _all_ of us can always look perfectly put together."

Kurt's heart skips a beat. _Was he flirting? Is this what flirting is like?_

"Can I use the bathroom?" The voice jolts Kurt from his thoughts and he realizes that once again he fell into the world where only he and Blaine existed. Luckily, when he looks across the table it seems that until the interruption Sally and Burt had their own conversation going on. He needs to be more careful and not just talk to Blaine because after all, this whole dinner was a setup for his dad.

"Are you sure you can't wait until after dinner honey?" Sally asks Maria. Maria shakes her head causing Sally to shootBurt an apologetic look.

"It's no problem. The bathroom is the first door on the left." Burt responds.

The rest of dinner finishes without a hitch, and to Kurt's delight, Burt and Sally seem to get along well. Now Kurt needs to move into phase two of his plan: Get his dad and Sally alone.

Once everyone appears to have finished Kurt stands and says "If everyone just brings their plates into the kitchen, I'll wash them real quick."

"Oh no Kurt let me do them, you've cooked this wonderful meal and it's the least I can do," Sally says right away.

Before Kurt can protest Burt says, "I'll help her. Why don't you take Blaine and Maria downstairs and watch a movie or something."

Kurt's jaw drops in surprise. Burt never offers to do the dishes. _Never. _

"Well um okay. The basement's right over here," he says as he leads the two of them down the stairs.

Turning to Maria, Kurt asks, "So, what movie do you want to watch?"

"The Little Mermaid!" Maria exclaims.

"Surprise, surprise," Blaine mutters under his breath. "Come on Maria, you watch that every day," he says in exasperation.

"I do not," she pouts. "My disk got scratched I haven't seen it in weeks! Besides, Kurt asked _me _what I wanted to watch, not you."

Kurt shrugs. "I did say she could choose…" he trails off looking at Blaine.

Blaine rolls his eyes but the corner of his mouth turns up into a smile. "Well, whatever Kurt says goes so I guess we're watching The Little Mermaid."

After Kurt sets up the movie he's faced with the dilemma of where to sit. Maria is sprawled out on the floor while Blaine is sitting comfortably on the couch. His eyes move between the empty space next to Blaine and the arm chair next to it.  
Blaine lets out a small laugh and pats the seat next to him saying, "You can sit here, I don't bite."

Kurt's face colors as he sits down, leaving plenty of space between the two of them.

"So," Blaine says after a moment, "Are you going to tell me what McKinley is really like?"

"I'm sure someone like you will have no trouble there," he says before he can stop himself. He cringes at how bitter it sounded.

Seeing Blaine's confused and slightly hurt look makes Kurt feel even worse. He just needs to tell him, he'll find out sooner or later.

"I just mean… I-I'm the only out kid at the school and well, a couple of jocks have made it their mission to make my life a living hell."

Kurt doesn't meet Blaine's gaze. He doesn't want to see the look of disgust, or worse, pity.

After a beat Blaine says quietly, "Look at me."

As he raises his head Kurt sees that Blaine's eyes are filled with understanding. But how could he possible understand unless… Kurt can't think about that. Expectations only lead to disappointments.

"You shouldn't let the bullies get you down. Prejudice is only ignorance, Kurt."

Kurt turns his head away to hide his unshed tears. He doesn't even know why he's crying, he's heard this a million times before from his dad. It's different though, coming from someone who isn't required to say this, someone who seems to actually get what he's going through.

"Besides," Blaine continues, "You won't be the only openly gay kid this year."

It takes him a moment to comprehend but when he does his head shoots up. "Wait, you-you're…"

"Gay?" Blaine finishes with a smile. "Yup."

Before Kurt can respond a very annoyed ten year old turns around and tell them both to be quiet because she can't hear the movie.

Blaine sighs but turns back towards the movie. Kurt feels as if a huge weight was just lifted off his chest. He's not alone anymore.

After a little while Sally comes down and says it's time for them to be heading home.

"But Mom," Maria complains, "It's not over yet!"

"If you want you can borrow it."

"Oh are you sure?" Sally asks Kurt.

Kurt nods and then startles when Maria jumps up to hug him before going to grab the movie.

"You're welcome," he says with a chuckle. As he starts to follow Sally and Maria upstairs he feels a hand on his elbow.

"Remember what I said, don't let them bother you," Blaine says with such sincerity that Kurt feels tears threatening to flow again. This boy who he just met already seems to care more than any of friends do.

Kurt manages a grateful smile and Blaine gives his arm a little squeeze before letting go and following the others.

"Bye, thanks again for having us. We had a great time," Sally says, her eyes never leaving Burt's.

"Bye Kurt, see you in school," Blaine says with a grin.

"Yeah, see you then." Kurt closes the front door behind them and lets out a content sigh.  
For once, Kurt was actually excited for the first day of school.


	2. Chapter 2

**I want to thank everyone who favorited/tracked/reviewed this so far, it means a lot to me :) The only other thing is I forgot to mention last time that I'll update this story every Wednesday.**

* * *

A week later Kurt walks into the kitchen to eat his traditional first day of school breakfast. It's one of the only times Burt actually cooks and while he's not as good as Kurt, he does make a mean egg sandwich.

"You seem extra peppy this morning," Burt comments when he notices Kurt humming as he makes himself coffee.

And Kurt is extra peppy. He hasn't seen Blaine since last week's dinner but today he is sure to at least catch a glimpse of him at school. Kurt is notorious for his extra fabulous first day of school outfits but this time he spent even more time picking it out than usual. He finally decided on black skinny jeans, a tight maroon collared shirt with three quarter length sleeves, and knee high grey boots. It is more casual than his previous outfits but it was still too hot for any of his favorite jackets or scarves.

"I could say the same about you," Kurt responds.

Burt and Sally had gone out twice more and Kurt is pleased they seem to get along so well. He hasn't seen his dad this happy in a long time. Kurt is happily enjoying his egg sandwich when Burt says he needs a favor from him.

"You remember Blaine right? Sally's son?"

Kurt nods, his mind going a mile a minute trying to figure out what Blaine has to do with anything.

"Well his car broke down yesterday and Sally has to drive Maria to her school so I told her you could give Blaine a lift to school."

Kurt chokes on his coffee. "I wait, what? Why didn't you give me any warning!" Kurt panics. He had expected to see

Blaine at school, maybe have a short conversation, but not to be alone with him in a car for ten minutes. What would they talk about? And surely Blaine doesn't want to be seen with him on his first day. New kids already get enough trouble so hanging out with Glee club members on top of that is practically social suicide.

Burt looks taken aback. "Sorry kid, I didn't think about it. Besides, you two seemed to get along well the other day." Then Burt's eyes darken for a minute. "Wait he hasn't given you any trouble or anything for being gay right? Because if he has so help me God I will-"

"No, no, it's nothing like that dad," he interrupts. "Actually… Blaine is gay himself."

"Oh," he says, slightly taken aback. "Well then that's good?"

"Yes everything's fine dad. I was just a little surprised, that's all."

Kurt finished his breakfast quickly and runs upstairs to put the finishing touches on his hair.

"Come on Kurt!" his dad yells from downstairs. "I don't want you making Blaine late on his first day."

After giving himself one more glance over in the mirror he runs downstairs and out the front door.

* * *

Blaine's house, like most of the others in the area, is almost an exact replica of Kurt's. Whoever designed the neighborhood obviously didn't have a very active imagination. One thing that did strike Kurt however, was the giant willow tree in the front yard. Willows had been his mom's favorite type of tree and during the summer they would often go to the local park and have picnics under this giant willow tree. Kurt hadn't thought about that in years, and hadn't been back to the park since his mom died. It holds too many memories.

Kurt is so caught up in the memory that he didn't notice Blaine until he was knocking on the car window. He quickly unlocks the door and apologizes as Blaine climbs in.

"No worries! Thanks so much for the ride Kurt!" Blaine practically gushes.

The gel is back, Kurt notices, and it's accompanied by a tight black polo, bright red floods, and black oxford shoes without any socks. The outfit is absolutely adorable and Kurt's glad to know his wardrobe goes farther than the jeans and t-shirt he was wearing before.

"So let me see you schedule," Blaine requests.

At Kurt's confused look, he laughs and says, "That way I can see if we have any classes together."

"Oh right, of course," Kurt mumbles and wills himself not to blush. He pulls the schedule out of his pocket and passes it to Blaine.

After a moment Blaine announces, "Darn, we only have physics together."

Kurt's heart speeds up. Blaine made it sound like he wanted to have more classes with him. Could that mean… but before Kurt finishes his thought Blaine continues, "It would have been nice to see a friendly face in more of my classes."

_Friendly._ That's all they were, just friends. Kurt deflates a little but still, friends can always lead to something more right? They chat about this and that for the rest of the ride, what they did over the summer mostly, and a little about glee club.

"So there is a meeting after school today?" Blaine asks.

"Well yeah, I mean usually new members don't come to the first only because they don't know about it yet but I'm sure it would be fine if you came."

Blaine smiles and says he'll be there. Once Kurt parks the car he cuts the gas but doesn't move.

"You don't have to, um... walk in with me…" Kurt says looking everywhere but at Blaine. When he eventually does looks he sees that Blaine looks hurt.

"No! I mean it's not that I don't want to," he quickly amends, "It's just that as I told you I'm not the most popular guy in school and so people might give you an extra hard time if they see us together."

"Kurt," he says softly turning to face him, "we're friends, aren't we?" When Kurt nods he continues, "Well I'm not going let anyone else stop that. I meant it when I said you weren't going to be the only out kid this year, I'm not going to hide who I am."

Kurt smiles but feels his chest tightening with nerves. As nice as it will be to not be the only out kid, he's scared for Blaine. He just doesn't realize what people are like at McKinley. When they get to the front doors Blaine immediately turns to go to the office.

"They told me to stop by before first period," he says with a shrug. "See you fifth period!"

Kurt waves and goes the opposite direction to his locker. His first period is AP English and when he walks in, he goes to sit next to Tina. They hadn't seen each other too often over the summer so they have a lot of catching up to do. Tina and Mike are still going strong and Kurt can't help but be a little jealous that she has so obviously already found her soul mate. Once class starts it actually goes by pretty quickly and before he knows it the bell is ringing.

"Don't forget to get your copy of _A Tale of Two Cities_!" Mrs. Hooter calls as they leave.

As soon as Kurt steps into the hallway, he notices a difference in the atmosphere. Everyone seems to be whispering and there are about twice as many girls putting on makeup at their lockers than usual. Kurt turns to say goodbye to Tina and walks over to his locker. About five seconds later he hears someone bang into the locker on his left side and he flinches on instinct.

"Sorry," Rachel says, slightly out of breath. "Didn't mean to scare you, but I just heard the most delicious gossip!" she finished excitedly.

"And what would that be?" he asks as he closes his locker.

"There's a new kid, Blaine something or another, and he's absolutely gorgeous!"

Kurt freezes. He hadn't told anyone, not even Rachel, about Blaine. It was silly but he liked having Blaine all to himself; being the only one that knew about him. Plus, once Rachel found out he was gay, she would have a field day trying to get them together, and Kurt knew that could only end in embarrassment on his part.

"Um... yeah I know." he says sheepishly. "He's the son of the woman my dad is dating and he actually came over for dinner the other night."

"What!" she shrieks. "How could you not tell me that!"

"I don't know, it never came up." Kurt offers lamely.

"Kurt Hummel that is crap and you know it. You were just trying to keep that boy all to yourself. And I'll admit, if I wasn't hopelessly in love with Finn, I would definitely be interested."

Kurt can't help but snort. "Well I don't think he would return that interest. He's gay."

When Rachel's eyes light up Kurt knows he's made a grave mistake. Sure enough, the discussion all the way to their next class revolves around Blaine and how he is perfect for Kurt.

* * *

"Hope this seat isn't taken," Blaine says as he plops down next to Kurt.

Kurt grins but before he can say anything the teacher, an older man with a thinning brown hair and glasses, calls the class to attention.

"My name is Mr. Willis and this is an introductory physics class. I run a tight ship but if you follow my rules I'm sure we'll all get along."

He then proceeds to list exactly thirty-seven rules that they must never, ever break. When he finally finishes Kurt turns to Blaine and raises his eyebrows and his mouth quirks up before looking away. About halfway through class Kurt tosses a note on to Blaine's desk.

_I would like to inform you that your tapping your pencil is a direct violation of rule 26_

Blaine's mouth turns up again but he looks nervously at the teacher and immediately stops tapping his pencil. His behavior is adorable and Kurt doesn't quite stifle his laugh in time.

"Is something funny Mr. Hummel?" Mr. Willis asks.

"No, sorry sir," he says ducking his head.

A few minutes later the notes flies back on to his desk.

_Looks like I'm not the only rule-breaker in this classroom_

Kurt groans inwardly. At this rate, he's going to be head over heels in love with Blaine in no time.

* * *

When Kurt walks into Glee, there are only two other people there. Rachel is talking animatedly to Mr. Schue about something and Finn who is watching them and looking slightly uncomfortable. Kurt takes a seat in the back row and pulls out his phone as he waits for the rest of the kids.

Within five minutes, everyone but Blaine has arrived and Mr. Schue is getting ready to start. When Kurt glances at the door for a fifth time Mercedes nudges him and shoots him a questioning look. Kurt just shrugs and looks up at Mr. Schue who has started talking.

"…this really is going to be our year guys, I can feel it! Now we are going to need some new members now Lauren and Quinn are no longer her-" Mr. Schue stops because there is a tentative knock on choir room door. He walks over to open it and in steps Blaine.

"Sorry I'm late, I didn't know where the choir room was."  
"That's alright Mr.…"

"Anderson. Blaine Anderson. Kurt invited me to come today," he says and smiles at Kurt. A couple people glance at Kurt including Rachel who gives him a not-so-subtle wink.

"Great well, welcome to Glee club Blaine! Why don't you go have a-"

"Wait a second," Santana interrupts, "are we just going to let this hobbit join without even hearing him sing? I thought we were getting serious this year."

"Santana!" Mr. Schue barks. "You know we never turn anyone away from Glee and besides, I'm sure Blaine has a great voice he'll be willing to share with us once he's has time to prepare."

Blaine, who had frowned slightly at the hobbit comment, perked back up.

"Actually I'm fine to sing now if you want," Blaine says.

Mr. Schue nods and Blaine goes over to talk to Brad. Mercedes takes the opportunity and turns to Kurt with a huge smile on her face.

"So, within the course of one day you convinced an attractive new boy to give up all hopes of popularity and come join Glee club? You must very persuading…" she says with a giggle.

Kurt crosses his arms and scowls at Mercedes before saying, "My dad is dating his mom so we talked for a little while last week. He was in the Glee club at his old school so it didn't really take much to convince him."

"Well do you know if he's gay? Because if he is you totally need to get on that." she says while giving Blaine a once-over.

Kurt is about to retort that just because Blaine is gay doesn't mean he's going to pursue him (although he will) but he stops himself. Blaine had said he was going to be out but Kurt still feels weird talking about it. He let it slip to Rachel but he decides to wait and see if Blaine says anything before telling anyone else. Just then Brad starts playing and Blaine begins to sing.

_So scared of breaking it that you won't let it bend  
And I wrote two hundred letters I will never send  
Sometimes these cuts are so much deeper then they seem  
You'd rather cover up, I'd rather let them be_

Kurt stares in awe because Blaine, a small guy at only 5'8, has one of the biggest stage presence he has ever seen. He's singing and dancing and moving around like he's performing at Madison Square Garden instead of in some choir room in Ohio.

_So let me be, and I'll set you free_

_I am in misery_  
_There ain't nobody who can comfort me, oh yeah_  
_Why won't you answer me?_  
_The silence is slowly killing me, oh yeah_

Blaine's voice is fun and infectious and by the end of the song everyone, Kurt included, is singing along. Blaine receives a big applause and even Rachel looks impressed.

"You were the leader of the Warblers!" Puck suddenly shouts from the back of the room. He looks quite pleased with himself for having figured this out.

Murmurs sweep through the room and people's faces begin to light up with recognition.

"Isn't that the school for dolphins?" Brittney asks.

Kurt shakes his head. Honestly, he loves Brittney, but he doesn't know where she gets this stuff half the time.

Blaine looks thoroughly confused until Santana says, "She means gay guys. See, she thinks dolphins are just gay sharks."

Blaine still looks confused but smiles and says, "No, not everyone at Dalton Academy is gay, but I am."

Puck whoops loudly at this confession and Kurt turns to see Sam scowling and handing him a five dollar bill.

"I told you, my gaydar is never wrong!"

Mr. Schue finally steps in, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention, and walks over to Blaine.

"That was amazing Blaine. It's good to have you in Glee. Go ahead and take a seat so we can get started."

Blaine looks around for a second before making his way over to sit next to Kurt.

He opens his mouth to say something but before he can Kurt says, "Wow Blaine that was fantastic. Seriously, your voice is great."

Blaine's whole face lights up and he responds, "Thanks! I can't wait to hear you sing. I can already tell you're going to blow me away."

Kurt smiles and ducks his head.

"Also," Kurt begins cautiously, "I just wanted to say it was really brave of you to say that up there. I know it isn't easy."  
Blaine's eyes darken for a minute as he says, "I've had some hard times in the past, but I figure if I can't accept myself how can I expect others to? Plus," he says in a lighter tone, "I'm hoping that by telling these guys to rumor mill will do its job because I've already had to turn one girl down today."

Kurt laughs at that, now realizing why all the girls were trying to look their best today. He looks over at Blaine and their eyes meet for a couple seconds before Kurt turns away blushing slightly. Yeah, there is no denying it, he is falling for Blaine Anderson.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next two weeks, Kurt and Blaine began spending a lot of time together. Kurt and Mercedes had been growing apart lately and with Rachel hanging out with Finn all the time, Blaine quickly stepped in as Kurt's best friend. Even after Blaine's car was fixed, Kurt gave him a ride to school every day. They often stopped by the Lima Bean before school, and Blaine almost always paid, insisting that he owed Kurt for driving him to school.

"I'll have a medium drip and a nonfat mocha for this guy," Blaine says to the barista while taking out his wallet.

"Blaine you really don't have to always pay…" Kurt says but his attempt is half-hearted at best.

Blaine sighs in exasperation but his little smile shows Kurt he's not actually annoyed. "Kurt, how many times are we going to have this argument? You pay for gas, I pay for coffee. End of story."

Kurt pretends to look put out but really he loves the fact that Blaine always pays for his coffee. It makes it feel a little like a date, and even though Kurt knows it's not, sometimes he likes to pretend that someone like Blaine would go out with him. The boys take a seat near the back of the shop because they're early enough today to relax for a while before school.

"So I was thinking," Blaine began, "for the duet contest this week we should sing together."

Kurt, who is sipping his coffee, chokes a little at Blaine's words.

Blaine's smile falters and he adds, "I mean, if that's something you want. I totally get it if you're already working with someone else…"

Kurt shook his head quickly. The duet contest was something the Glee club had every year but something Kurt had never participated in. Well, last year he sang Le Hot Jazz by himself, but it wasn't the same as having a partner. Since everyone else had already paired up he had planned to just sit out again but he had totally forgot about Blaine.

"No, I mean yes, I'd love to work with you," Kurt finally says. "It's just... we do this every year and I've never had a partner before, so I just figured this year would be the same."

Blaine tilts his head a little and reaches across the table to hold Kurt's hand. Kurt's breath hitches and the touch and he looks up to meet Blaine's gaze.

"Well they're all crazy. You're one of the best singers in the room Kurt, truly you are. Your rendition of _I'm the Greatest Star_ last week completely blew me away. I'd be honored to work with you," he says and then, to Kurt's disappointment, takes his hand back.

Even without the presence of Blaine's hand though, Kurt is beaming. He's only known Blaine for a few weeks but somehow he always knows just what to say.

"The honor is all mine. You want to come over after school and practice?"

"Definitely!" Blaine replies with a smile as big as Kurt's.

* * *

"Dad, I'm home!" Kurt announces as he and Blaine walk into the house. His dad has Monday afternoons off from the shop so he's almost always home.

"Hey kiddo," Burt says as he enters the foyer. Upon noticing Blaine, he gives him a nod.

"Blaine and I are just working on an assignment for Glee, so we'll be upstairs, okay?" and then, before Burt can respond, Kurt starts quickly moving up the stairs.

"Alright but the door stays open," Burt says giving Kurt an appraising look.

Kurt flushes and splutters, "Dad-I we're just friends, there's not- don't worry but yeah, okay."

Blaine gives a little snort of laughter and Kurt turns to glare at him as they continue to Kurt's room. Kurt's room is pretty simple. There's a queen bed off to the left side, a vanity table behind that, a dresser on the opposite side, and an ironing board with sewing materials on it beside that.  
Blaine immediately moves toward the ironing board and begins looking at Kurt's sewing kit.

"Do you make your own clothes?"

"Not usually, it's more for patching up tears and things like that. Although, I did make my own prom outfit last year. It was a kilt," he says with a chuckle.

Turning to look at him Blaine says, "Wow that's… impressive!" with no sarcasm whatsoever. "My mom works for Joann's Fabrics, so you should talk to her about this stuff sometime."

Kurt nods and then sits on the bed, pulling his computer onto his lap.

"So, for our duet, what kind of song are you thinking?"

"Definitely something top 40, because if we want to win the contest, we'll have to appeal to the rest of Glee club," Blaine explains as he settles himself next to Kurt.

"Yeah, good thinking. Okay so who is your favorite pop singer?"

"Katy Perry!" Blaine answers so quickly that Kurt turns to smirk at him.

"What?" he says defensively, "She's amazing."

Kurt merely laughs and clicks on a comprehensive list of Katy Perry songs.

"Perfect!" Blaine shouts after a moment.

"What's perfect?" Kurt asks.

"No, let's sing Perfect, by P!nk."

Kurt thinks about it for a moment and then starts to smile. He wants to change the arrangement to make it a little more interesting, but it definitely has potential. Kurt wants to win the contest badly, and not just because of his competitive nature. He wants it because the prize is dinner at Breakstix, and Kurt will take any excuse to spend more time with Blaine. Over the next few hours, they practice the song pretty much non-stop. Kurt actually has to ask Blaine to stop dancing around and jumping on furniture while they rehearse because he can't help but laugh when he does. In the end, Kurt decides to take the first verse, Blaine takes the rapping part, and they sing the chorus together.

"You know Blaine," Kurt begins teasingly, "I've never seen a rapper wear a bow-tie before."

Blaine, having no witty comeback, responds by grabbing Kurt and tickling him until he's begging for mercy. If anyone else had tried to tickle Kurt he would have thrown a fit, but somehow with Blaine it's okay. Kurt notices that Blaine seems to be the exception to many of his rules, including the most important one, _don't get your hopes up_. He's always felt that by expecting the worst it's impossible to be disappointed and by the way his life has gone so far, it seems a pretty useful rule. But that was before Blaine. With Blaine, he can't help but hope because nothing has ever felt so right before. He can just feel it, feel it deep down, that Blaine and him are suppose to be together. So right after Blaine leaves, Kurt makes a decision. He's not going to sit back on the sidelines and let someone else snag Blaine. No, sometime soon, he's going to tell Blaine how he feels.

* * *

The next day during Glee club, Kurt sits and impenitently waits for the end of class when the duets would be performed. Blaine and him were the only other ones who signed up today besides Rory and Sugar. Both of them are new members this year, Rory being a foreign exchange student living with Brittney, and Sugar being a completely tone deaf girl who only was allowed in because Mr. Schue didn't want to turn anyone away. Santana threw a fit but after Sugar offered to pay for a new piano and their bus to sectionals, she relented. Quinn is also back, sans the pink hair and punk clothing, which Kurt is glad of. He always felt bad for Quinn and everything she's had to go through, so he likes that she has the Glee club as a support system. With her back and the new recruits, for the first time ever the Glee club has enough kids to compete right at the beginning of the year.

Rory and Sugar are up first and they completely butcher _I Got You Babe_ by Sonny and Cher. Between Rory's accent and Sugar's complete inability to sing the song is almost unrecognizable.

"That was… yes well Kurt and Blaine, you guys are up next!" Mr. Schue says after being unable to find anything to say about Rory and Sugar's number.

They go over to tell Brad their song selection and Blaine whispers "Are you ready for this? We're gonna kill it!"

Kurt laughs and pulls Blaine to the center of the room as Brad starts playing. It had taken a while, but he had finally convinced Blaine to keep his dancing to a minimum for this song. As Kurt starts to sing he turns to look at Blaine and he sees a whole future ahead of him. A future where they are best friends, and duet partners, and lovers, and just _KurtandBlaine _as one thing, together and in love. Kurt knows he needs to stop this, that he barely knows the guy, that they aren't even dating, but he can't.

When they finish, everyone cheers loudly and Blaine surprises Kurt by pulling him into a hug. Kurt stiffens at first but he quickly lets his body relax into the warmth, breathing in the smell of hair gel, cologne, and a woodsy scent that is uniquely Blaine. As they pack up to leave, Kurt notices that Rachel, Mercedes, Puck, Santana, and Artie are all standing in a circle discussing what seems to be a very serious matter. When Kurt starts to walk over there though, they quickly disperse giving him overly bright smiles and saying they'd see him tomorrow. Kurt shakes his heading thinking about how strange his friends are and follows Blaine out to the car.

* * *

All the other kids in Glee did their duets sometime during the week and it was finally Friday, the day the winner is chosen. It's a simple system to choose the winner. Everyone in Glee club gets one vote and they can vote for whoever they want except themselves. Kurt plans to vote for Finn and Rachel because their version of _You're the One That I Want_ was very good; or maybe it just seemed that way in comparison to when they sang it sophomore year. Kurt doesn't expect to win but he'd be lying if he said he hasn't been fantasizing about that dinner at Breadstix with Blaine. Depending on how the dinner went, maybe Kurt would get up the courage to tell Blaine how he feels. Kurt shakes his head, clearing the thoughts away, and turns to ask Blaine what he thought of last night's episode of America's Next Top Model when Santana speaks.

"So are you two fucking yet?" she asks in a bored voice.

Kurt startles and looks to see who she's talking to and realizes it was directed at him and Blaine. He immediately turns beat red and his throat seems to close up making it impossible to speak. Blaine, who was taking a sip of milk at the time, started choking and is still trying to catch his breath.

"I mean the heart-eyes you were giving each other during your duet the other day were legitimately nauseating," Santana continues.

"Look Santana, we're not- we're just good friends," Blaine says glancing at Kurt to make sure he's on the same page.

"Yeah," Kurt says when he finally recovers, "but we're not _friends_ like you and Brittney are."

Santana snaps up at that, her eyes widening with something Kurt can't quite place. Anger? Fear? Kurt feels slightly guilty, he can be a real bitch when he gets angry, but it wasn't right of Santana to embarrass him like that. Luckily Blaine seems unaffected by it, though, because soon he picking right back up on their ANTM conversation and all traces of awkwardness are gone.

After lunch Kurt goes up to Santana to apologize.

"Hey, Santana, sorry about that comment earlier. I don't know what's going on between you and Brittney but it's none of my business and I shouldn't have said anything. I know this school can be pretty close-minded so if you ever need anyone to talk to I'm here."

Santana still looks pissed but she says, "Yeah whatever. But don't go all psychologist on me now. I already have Mr. Schue's ginger wood-nymph breathing down my neck so I don't need you too. Honestly I'm fine."

Kurt highly doubts that she's fine judging from her reaction earlier but he lets the subject drop. His last class, European History, seems to drag on forever but eventually the last bell rings and he makes a beeline for the choir room. Everyone gets to the room quickly and soon enough all the votes have been cast and Mr. Schue starts counting them up.

"Attention guys! The winner of the 2011 Glee club duet contest by an overwhelming majority is…" Kurt holds his breath as Mr. Schue drags out the pause, "Kurt and Blaine! Congratulation guys."

Kurt gives a little excited cheer and Blaine gives his shoulders a squeeze before giving him a nudge to go and get the gift certificate. As he sits back down Kurt notices that no one else seems to upset about their loss, which is quite different from people's cut-throat attitudes in previous years. He is about to ask Blaine his opinion on this when Blaine suddenly says, "So from your guys reactions I'm guessing Breadstix is a really great place but… what exactly is it?"

All other chatter in the choir room stops and everyone turns to face Blaine.

"Boy, are you telling me you've never been to Breadstix?" Mercedes asks.

When Blaine shakes his head everyone starts speaking at once.

"What are you crazy! How could you have not gone?"

"Their breadsticks are to die for!"

"There's this one waitress who works Friday nights and is smokin' and... actually, never mind, I forgot you don't play for that team."

"Alright everybody calm down," Mr. Schue says. "He'll be going to Breadstix soon enough. Now you're all free to go, we don't really have anything else to work on today."

Kurt swivels around to look at Blaine and can't help but laugh at the shell-shocked expression on his face.

"Welcome to Glee club!" Kurt says still laughing.

"I didn't realize how seriously everyone takes food around here," he mutters.

Kurt chuckles again and then asks, "So when do you want to go?"

"Are you free tonight?" Blaine asks.

When Kurt nods he says, "Great! So how about I drive for once. I'll pick you up around 7?"

"Sounds perfect." Kurt smiles and thanks his lucky stars because for once, everything is going just the way he wanted.

* * *

Kurt is just putting the finishing touches on his hair when the doorbell rings. He looks over at the clock and smiles because Blaine, ever the gentleman, is exactly on time. He breezes down the stairs and manages the get to the door just before Burt does. Blaine is wearing a black long-sleeved collared shirt with a dark green bow-tie and dark wash jeans. Kurt debated whether or not to wear his knee-high black leather boots, worrying they were too dressy, but after seeing Blaine, he's glad he did.

"His curfew is 11:30 and I want him home in one piece," Burt says and Kurt huffs in the background because honestly, he can take care of himself.

"Of course Burt." Blaine says with the kind of sincerity that would charm even the toughest parents.

Luckily because Burt already knows Blaine, and because as Kurt has told him many times, this is not a date, the conversation ends there and they are free to go. As they approach the car Blaine dashes in front of Kurt to open the door for him, causing him to roll his eyes.

"You know Blaine, chivalry died like 50 years ago."

"And that, my good sir, is what is wrong with the world," Blaine says in a mock serious tone.

The ride to the restaurant is quiet but once they get there the conversation flows nicely.

"So Kurt," Blaine starts after they've ordered, "how has your senior year been so far?"

When Kurt stops to think about it, he realizes that his senior year really has been great so far. Karofsky changed schools because he was afraid Kurt would out him (he never would), the bullying had been limited to a few locker shoves and name calling, and of course, the main thing, Blaine.

"Pretty great actually. I haven't been slushied all year!" he says with a smile.

"… slushied?" Blaine asks raising an eyebrow.

"You know that slushie machine in the cafeteria? Well some people, the jocks mostly, get a slushie and then throw it at people. It's quite painful but you get use to them."

Blaine has a completely incredulous look on his face but when he sees that Kurt isn't joking it turns to anger. "How can this be allowed? Have you told the administration? What do they have to say?"

"They don't do anything really. Since it doesn't cause any serious injuries, they just file it under normal high school behavior."

Blaine shakes his head in disgust. "Well at least you said it hadn't happened at all this year. Maybe people are maturing."

At this Kurt lets out a bark of laughter. "Sorry but no, I don't think that's it. They've probably just found someone else to harass or are bidding for some kind of super slushie," Kurt says, trying to make light of the situation. Blaine is having none of it.

"You tell me if any of this starts back up again, you hear me?"

"Fine." Kurt is surprised at Blaine's reaction because none of his other friends made a big deal of the bullying thing. Maybe it's just a shock coming from such a safe place like Dalton.

"What about you? Are you sad that you had to leave your friends at Dalton?" Kurt asks.

"I do miss them. I'm actually driving out to Westerville tomorrow to visit all of them. Two of my good friends, Wes and David, graduated last year though, so I wouldn't see them anyways. But overall I'm glad I came here. There are things I've found here that I've never had before."

Blaine looks at Kurt so intently during the last part that he is forced to look away blushing. Kurt knows he should say it now, tell Blaine how he feels, but he's too chicken.

After a few moments of silence Blaine asks, "So, what are your plans for after graduation?"

"New York," he answers immediately. "I'm hoping NYADA but even if that doesn't work out I'm going to get to New York somehow. I just feel like I belong there. Do you feel that?"

"Well I've never been anywhere but Ohio or Wisconsin before and if I feel anything about those two places it's that I don't belong," Blaine says with a chuckle. "The only thing I know is I want to study music. Maybe even become a music teacher, I like working with kids. And I know I want to go to a big city. New York would be cool, or maybe California."

Kurt's stomach clenched at the thought of Blaine all the way in California but he pushes it away to worry about at some other time.

"Are you thinking you'll study music of fashion?" Blaine asks.

"Music for sure. I love fashion, but it's more of a hobby for me. I mean, who doesn't strive to look fabulous at all times?"

Blaine laughs and a warm feeling spreads throughout Kurt's body knowing that he caused that. They chit chat about this and that for the rest of the evening, teasing each other whenever possible. Blaine found it especially funny that Kurt snaps at the waitstaff to get their attention. On the drive home they sing along with the radio, each trying to be louder than the other. When Blaine finally pulls up in front of Kurt's house they sit there for a minute trying to get their giggling under control.

Finally Blaine says "Tonight was really fun. And while I don't quite see what the hype about Breadstix was, we should do it again sometime."

He hesitates for a second then he starts to lean towards him slightly and Kurt starts to freak out a bit because _oh good god_ Blaine is about to kiss him. But it's then that Blaine seems to realize what he's doing and he quickly straightens back up and forces a cough.

"Yes well I guess I'll see you on Monday. Bye Kurt."

Kurt is still kind of dazed but he manages to say goodbye and get out of the car. Once Blaine drives away, he begins analyzing the moment again and again trying to figure out what went wrong. Or if he was completely off and Blaine wasn't leaning in to kiss him at all. After talking with his dad for a bit and taking a shower he is still thoroughly confused so he decides there is one thing left to do. Call Rachel.

* * *

**Reviews would be nice, I really like to know what you all think of the plot, the characterization, the dialogue, just everything! See you all next Wednesday :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Kurt looks toward the door for a third time since sitting down and taps his pencil impatiently. When the bell rings, he reluctantly turns his attention the board where Mr. Willis is standing. This is the second day in a row Blaine has been late for physics, and it's very unlike him. To Kurt's knowledge, the only time he's ever been late to any class was the first week of school when he was still learning where everything was.

Blaine's a little bit of a secret nerd. Alright, so it's not that secret. He loves school because he generally just likes learning new things, something Kurt can't understand. It's one reason Kurt can really see Blaine becoming a teacher. That and the fact that he's so good with kids. He babysits the two little boys who live next door and one time Kurt went along to help out. He wasn't really needed though, because Blaine had the kids, who are usually running around being completely out of control, doing a quiet art project that took almost the entire night within five minutes of getting there.

Five minutes later Blaine did walk in and, after receiving a dirty glare and a detention slip from Mr. Willis, he sat down. Kurt notices Blaine is wearing a sweatshirt even though it feels like a sauna in the school today, so he motions to it and shoots him quizzical look. Blaine shrugs in response and quickly gets to work on the work and energy project that was assigned for the class.

When class is over Kurt says jokingly, "Late two days in a row? If I didn't know any better I'd say you like having detention with Mr. Willis."

Blaine forces a smile but Kurt can tell it's not genuine.

"What's the matter?" he asks his tone immediately changing from one of teasing to one of concern.

"Nothing much. I just feel a little under the weather today."

Kurt nods in sympathy and says he'll share his chicken and broccoli soup with him because nobody deserves cafeteria food when they're feeling sick. Blaine smiles gratefully and his mood seems to improve as they continue walking towards the lunchroom.

* * *

A few days later Kurt is walking down the hallway when he experiences the first locker shove in a while. Azimio, it seems, has taken up where Karosfsky left off as head bully. As he straightens back up and begins to brush off his clothes he looks up and is taken aback by the fact that Azimio is still there.

"You're lucky your boyfriend is stopping any real damage from being done," he sneers before stalking away.

_Boyfriend? _What in the world is Azimio talking about? He's still mulling over the words when he looks down and notices that a button has come loose from his coat and is hanging by a thread. Kurt huffs angrily. This was a brand new coat and it had cost him quite a bit of money. Luckily, he carries around an emergency sewing kit and head off to the bathroom to fix the damage. He'll be late to French but Madame Flores loves him so it shouldn't be a big deal. Kurt enters to bathroom and is surprised to find it isn't empty. When the boy looks up he is even more surprised to see that it's Blaine.

"Blaine what…" Kurt begins but trails off when he sees the blue die staining the sides of the sink Blaine is hunched over.  
He rushes over and almost trips on a bag lying a few feet from Blaine. The bag has change of clothes for Blaine in it and suddenly it all makes sense.

"This is why you've been late to physics recently isn't it?"

Blaine, whose shocked expression has turned to defeat. He nods but still averts Kurt's gaze. Blaine turns the faucet back on and sticks his head under the flow to wash the slushie from his hair.

"Here, let me help," Kurt offers and begins running his hands through Blaine's hair. He hesitates for a second before saying, "Azimio said something about a fr-friend stopping him from doing anything… It was you, wasn't it?"

Blaine finally looks up at Kurt and opens his mouth to speak just as Marcus, one of Azimio's cronies, walks in. He takes one look at Blaine and begins to laugh cruelly.

"Come on, we need to talk. But not here," Kurt adds and picks up Blaine's bag.

He asks if Blaine minds skipping his last class and when he shakes his head they begin to walk out to the parking lot. The ride back to Kurt's house is silent but Kurt is happy for the time to compose his thoughts. Blaine has obviously been taking the brute of Azimio and his gang's violence for Kurt, but for how long he is unsure. It's only been this past week that Blaine started showing up late to class, probably to clean up after being slushied, so maybe it hasn't been going on long.

But he's still confused as to why Azimio thinks Blaine is his boyfriend. Kurt hasn't told anyone, not even Rachel or Mercedes, of his feelings and they've never even hugged (minus that one time in Glee). It's possible that Azimio thinks they're dating simply because they're the only two gay guys at the school but Blaine's been out since his first week so why did the bullying start now? Unless, it's been going on the whole time and Kurt is just realizing it now. That thought makes Kurt sick to his stomach.

When they get to the house, Kurt goes to the kitchen and puts a pot of water on the stove for tea. He then sits down across from Blaine at the kitchen table.

"Alright, tell me everything. When did this start?"

Blaine sighs. "It started early last week. Marcus saw us at Breadstix the Friday before and thought that it was a date. Apparently, this kid named David who used to go here told them not to bother you anymore, but they said if I didn't let them cheat off me in math then they would start harassing you again. So that's all it was until this week. I guess they thought it wasn't enough for me to help in math because they started throwing slushies at me. They said if I told anyone they would start in on you, but from what you told me about McKinley, I doubt the school would do anything anyways. I-I feel really bad about cheating but I just don't want you getting hurt." When Blaine finishes, he meets Kurt's gaze and his eyes shine with guilt.

"Blaine," Kurt starts but his voice is so shaky he clears his throat and starts again. "Blaine, I'm not mad at you at all. I-It's nice, too nice, of you to take this all on by yourself. I can handle myself and those bullies, I've been doing it since freshman year. So stop letting them cheat, I know that must be killing you." Kurt says. After a moment he adds, "But I have to know, why do all this? Why all of this for me?"

At this, Blaine looks at him as if he's grown two heads. "Because you're my friend, my _best _friend, and I care about you Kurt. You're so strong and you've been dealing with this for so long and I just thought that… I don't know, that you're senior year should be magic."

Tears threaten to flow at this and Kurt wipes his eyes as discreetly as he can.

"Thank you Blaine. Thank you so much. But from now on, we can face them together. I've been thinking lately and I've decided that I'm going to run for class president this year. I really want to focus on making the school a safe place for everyone by instituting some new anti-bullying policies."

"That's a really great idea. Hopefully it will go better than when I tried my freshman year," Blaine says.

Kurt's brows furrow. "I thought Dalton always had strict anti-bullying policies."

"Oh they have, but my freshman year I didn't go to Dalton. I went to a public school out in Westerville. I helped start a Gay-Straight alliance to try and stop the rampant homophobia in the school, but it didn't have much effect. They bullying for me wasn't too bad until the end of the year, when I decided to take my friend, the only other gay guy in the school, to the Sadie Hawkins dance. While we were waiting for his dad to pick us up, three guys beat the living crap out of us."

Kurt gasps at this and reaches across the tablet to hold Blaine's hand.

"I transferred to Dalton the next year and I haven't had to deal with anything like that since. I ran away Kurt. I ran from the bullies instead of confronting them. I was a coward. Actually, I still am one. Instead of standing up to the bullies this year, I crumpled under them." As Blaine talks he becomes more and more dejected until Kurt finally stops him.

"No Blaine, stop. You are not a coward. There is no shame in removing yourself from a bad situation and going somewhere where you can be happy. If I had known about Dalton, I would have gone in a heartbeat. And this year, you know as well as I do that you didn't comply with the bullies to save yourself. You did it for me. That's being a hero, not a coward."

Blaine still doesn't look convinced so Kurt adds, "Plus, you will get to stand up to them now. With my anti-bullying policies we can fight them together."

At that, the tensions in Blaine's shoulders lessen a bit and a smile tugs at his lips. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, you always seem to know just what to say."

"I feel the same way about you," Kurt says seriously.

They lapse into a comfortable silence but a few minutes later a confused look crosses Blaine's face.

"Wait, who is David? Was he a friend of yours?" Blaine asks.

Kurt lets out a humorless laugh. "Just when I thought we were done talking about the dark stuff." He sighs and continues, "David Karofsky was my biggest tormentor throughout high school, but it got especially bad last year. When I finally confronted him, I found out that he was actually gay himself and was jealous I was brave enough to come out."

"He told you that?" Blaine asks incredulously.

"Well not right away, at the time he just um… hekissedme," Kurt mumbles quickly.

"What?"

"He kissed me," Kurt finally says his cheeks turning pink.

Blaine's eyes widen at the confession, his mouth dropping open a little. "Kurt I'm so sorry," Blaine says and now it's his turn to take Kurt's hand.

"It was my first kiss," he says softly, "and it was followed by a death threat if I ever told anyone what had happened."

A flash of anger crosses Blaine's face but he composes himself and squeezes Kurt's hand. "What happened after that?"

"Eventually I did tell the school and they suspended him for a few days and forced him into anger management classes. It was entirely his decision to leave McKinley this year, but I can't say I'm unhappy he did. He apologized and we're on speaking terms now but… It would still be uncomfortable to see him around."

Blaine nods his head and they sit in silence once more until the kettle on the stove starts to squeal. Kurt gets up and fixes two cups of tea, a green tea for Blaine and an Earl Grey cup for himself.

He's handing Blaine his mug when Blaine says, "It doesn't count you know?" At Kurt's confused look, he clarifies, "The kiss. It doesn't count as your first one."

Kurt smiles and says "What about my one with Brittney?"

It takes Blaine a second to get it but when he does his facial expression turns into one of disgust. "You kissed Brittney? As in, the blonde cheerleader from Glee club?"

"Multiple times," Kurt adds. "It was during my butch stage sophomore year. Don't worry, I'm never going back."

Blaine finally cracks a smile and then he begins to laugh. Pretty soon both Kurt and Blaine are laughing so hard their sides hurt and tears are running down they're faces. They're not really sure why they're laughing, but after everything that just happened, it feels good to be happy.

* * *

The next day when Blaine walks into Glee club, Kurt can't help but turn bright red. His dream last night had featured one Blaine Anderson and had left him hard and throbbing. He's had those dreams before of course, but this was the most vivid and the only one that's ever featured a face he knew. He feels so dirty for thinking of Blaine that way and cringes at the thought of Blaine ever finding out. As Blaine gets closer, Kurt pretends to cough so he can blame the redness on that.

"So how'd it go today?" Kurt asks cryptically once Blaine reaches him.

Blaine shrugs, "I only help Azimio's friends and they just seemed lost when I told them I was done letting them cheat. I'm sure nothing bad will happen until they tell Azimio. I still think we should go to principal Figgins with all this."

Kurt restrains from heaving a sigh. Blaine is such an idealist when it comes to this stuff, he doesn't get that this isn't Dalton; the school just doesn't care.

"Maybe. But let's just see how it goes first. I know the election isn't for a few more weeks but let's try and hold out until then."

Blaine eventually relents and they move on to lighter subjects until Mr. Schue calls them to order. When Glee club ends, Blaine has to go with his mom straight to a doctor's appointment so he doesn't get a ride home from Kurt as usual. Kurt is just leaving the classroom when Rachel runs up to him and hooks her arm through his.

"Finally!" she breathes. "I've been trying to catch you without Blaine for some time now but you guys are attached at the hip! I've got to know, how's it going between you two in the romance department?"

Kurt is about to deny any such romance between Blaine and him but decides to just go ahead and tell Rachel the truth. "I honestly don't know. Sometimes I think we're something more, like when we went to Breadstix-"

"Something I set up by the way," Rachel interrupts. "Well okay fine, it was a joint effort by the Glee club. We all decided to vote for you two in the hopes that a romantic dinner at Breadstix would help you guys seal the deal. Obviously it was unsuccessful," she adds sourly.

Kurt stares at Rachel in shock. He's not sure whether to be offended that they won the duet contest unfairly or flattered that his friends care enough to do something like that for him.

"Yes, well, as I was saying, it's all very confusing. Blaine is sending out very mixed signals. I was planning on telling him that I liked him as more than a friend but… lately the jocks have been giving us, but him especially, a very hard time. And that was just because they thought we were dating, I can't imagine what they would do if it was confirmed."

Rachel squeezes his arm sympathetically. "Don't let those jerks stop you from being happy. You know the guys in Glee have your back, they won't let anything happen to you or Blaine."

Kurt wants to argue that things have been happening and nobody has done anything about it but he realizes that won't do any good. Those guys do have his back, but Azimio knows that so he won't try anything in front of them.

"Maybe. I need some time to think about it..." Kurt finally says.

"Okay but you better not let your first love get away that easy!" Rachel says before Kurt one last squeeze and flouncing off to Finn's car where he's waiting for her.

Kurt wants to shout back that he's not in love with Blaine but something stops him. _Is he? _Is it possible that after these few short weeks he could be in love with him? He climbs into his car and groans, letting his head drop so it's resting on the steering wheel. Things with Blaine seem to get more complicated by the day.

* * *

**Sorry this is pretty short but I felt that adding anything else to the chapter would have distracted from the importance of the conversation they had. I promise the next chapter is longer and I think you all will really like it. It involves partying and drunkenness and warblers ;) Love you all, see you in a week!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I would like to offer the most sincere apology for not updating yesterday. The fact that I could update at all is due to my lovely beta (bless her heart) because my computer is indisposed at the moment but luckily she had a backup copy of this chapter. Anyhoo, hope you like this and we'll be back with regular Wednesday updates next week!**

* * *

True love. Kurt has been thinking about it a lot since his chat with Rachel. He's always believed in love, it's the closest thing to a higher power that he thinks exists. But true love, he never really can figure out where that fits into the equation. How it differs from regular love, what made it better. After some time he determines that only one thing matters; all love is true love. People try to make their love seem better by saying its "true" but love is already the most powerful thing in the world. There's no way to one-up it.

But what even is love? Love isn't obsession, infatuation, lust, although they are often mistaken for it. Love is being able to be completely honest. Love is feeling safe in their arms. Love is saying "I want what's best for you" and actually meaning it. Even if what's best for them interferes with what's best for you.

After Kurt figures this all out he realizes that no, he is not in love with Blaine Anderson. Not yet, anyway. He thinks he could be though, and that it won't take very much more. But for now, Kurt doesn't know him well enough. There are things he is hiding and until Kurt knows what they are, or at least why they are being hidden, he can't be sure of anything. He has to be able to completely trust Blaine and that's something he just can't do yet.

* * *

About a week before Halloween, Blaine asks Kurt if he wants to help him babysit his neighbors. Blaine doesn't actually need any help, but the kids go to bed early so the parents encourage Blaine to have someone over to keep him company. Kurt has only gone a couple of times before but he really likes going. The family has a comfy couch and lots of movies but, more importantly, it gives Blaine and him time to just talk.

After Kurt found out that Blaine hid from him the fact that he was being bullied, he realized just how good he is at hiding things. He doesn't like to talk about himself or his past and often steers to conversation away from it when Kurt brings it up. For example, he has never once mentioned his father. Kurt doesn't want to pry, but it's not good to keep all of your feeling pent up.

When he pulls up to the Crawley's house, Blaine's car is already there. He is just about to step onto their porch when Mr. and Mrs. Crawley coming bustling out the door with a haggard but relieved look on their faces. They smile at him and wish him good luck as they continue on their way.

Kurt won't lie. After helping Blaine out the first time, his set in stone plan to have two kids, a boy first and then a girl, wavered a bit. It was a lot more work than he imagined and that was just watching them for a few hours. His plan to have kids had always been a pretty abstract one, considering he had never really been around them before. After babysitting, he realized that he's definitely not ready to have kids for some time.

"Hey Kurt! We're in the basement!" Blaine calls as he hears Kurt walk in the front door.  
Kurt toes of his shoes and heads downstairs, almost tripping on a matchbox car ramp that is in the middle of the stairway.

"Be careful!" the littlest boy (Kurt's pretty sure his name is Carson) says as he moves around it.

"Sorry," Blaine says with a chuckle. "They've been working on this all day and they're very proud of it."

Kurt hums and looks around the room, admittedly impressed by the intricate track the kids have set up. He spends the next hour watching Blaine play with them and refusing multiple offers to join in. He could have just come after the boys have already gone to bed but he likes seeing Blaine interact with them. It's adorable he way his face lights up when the cars crash together or when his wins the race. He's like a big kid.

Eventually it's their bedtime and they go up with minimal protesting. After Blaine takes them up and tucks them, he bounds down the stairs and plops down next to Kurt on the couch.

"Thanks for coming," he says with a grin. "It gets pretty lonely here without you."

"What are friends for?" Kurt says smiling.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Blaine asks.

When Kurt nods, he goes over to the movie cabinet and begins rifling through them. After a moment, he turns to Kurt and says, "You choose. Anything particular you want to watch?"

Kurt thinks for a moment and then asks, "Do they have When Harry Met Sally?"

Blaine quirks his eyebrow at this and can't stop a smirk from appearing on his face.

"What?" Kurt asks defensively. "It's a classic."

"I'm just teasing," Blaine assures him, laughing a little as he puts the movie in.

On the way back to the couch, he grabs a blanket and drapes it over him and Kurt. They're sitting close, there's about a half inch in between their thighs and their feet are propped up on the foot rest, just barely touching. Kurt has an overwhelming urge to rest his head on Blaine's shoulder but he doesn't.  
They sit quietly, not talking much, until about half way through the movie. Kurt turns to Blaine, takes a deep breath, and just comes out with it.

"Blaine, why don't you ever talk about your dad?"

Blaine visibly stiffens. He glances over at Kurt but quickly turns back to the TV and gives a half shrug.

"Is-is he dead?" Kurt asks quietly.

"No. Although I wouldn't know that except for the child support checks that come once a month," he mutters darkly.

"I don't mean to pry…" Kurt trails off trying to gauge Blaine's reaction. When none comes he continues "But I'm here. If you want to talk I mean."

He doesn't pause to movie but he does shift so he's half facing Kurt. "There's not much to tell. My dad left when I was a sophomore and hasn't been back since. It took my mom a while but she eventually realized she was better off without him. He sends child support checks which help, but they're not enough. Dalton was too expensive and that's part of the reason we moved out here, my mom didn't want me to go back to the school where those kids beat me up. And that's it."

Blaine rattles off the information so quickly and efficiently that it almost seems like it's rehearsed. He then turns back towards the movie and turns up the volume a bit, signaling that the conversation is over. Kurt frowns. He still has some questions, like why his dad left in the first place, but he decides those can wait.  
It's a little bit awkward after that until the scene where Meg Ryan fakes the orgasm in the restaurant comes on. The scene itself makes them so uncomfortable that after it's over, the relief they feel makes the previous awkwardness disappear.

It's not too much later that Kurt feels his eyelids begin to droop. The next thing he knows, Blaine is gently shaking him awake and the Crawley's are walking into the room.

"Hey, Kurt, it's time to go," he says softly.

It's then that Kurt notices his head is on Blaine's shoulders and he hastens to sit up. He blushes slightly and wipes at his mouth, really hoping that he wasn't drooling.

"Oh well aren't you too just the cutest couple," Mrs. Crawley practically coos.

This quickly wakes Kurt up and he's stuttering about how they're just friends when Blaine calmly interrupts, "He's right. We're just friends."

"Sure," she says with a wink, obviously not believing them.

Even Blaine doesn't have a response to this so they just stand up and wait for her to write the check.

"Thanks boys. We'll be sure to call you next time we're going out."

They smile and agree to see them soon before slipping on their shoes and leaving.

"Sorry I fell asleep. I guess I didn't really make this any more fun for you," Kurt mumbles once they walk outside.

"Nonsense. Things are always better when you're around," Blaine says looking at Kurt with such intensity that he has to look away.

Before he can formulate a response Blaine is waving goodbye and walking towards his car. Kurt shakes his head and goes to his own car guessing that those golden eyes will once again be haunting his dreams.

* * *

It is three days before Halloween and Kurt is freaking out because he has yet to put together a costume. Usually he doesn't care too much, considering he stays at home and hands out candy. This year, though, Rachel's dads are out of town so she's throwing a party. Her party last year was fun even though the whole of the New Directions, apart from him and Finn, got roaring drunk. Kurt plans to enjoy the party sober again, because after his brief experience with alcohol sophomore year, he swore off the stuff for good.

Kurt is scouring the sales rack at Charlotte Russe and muttering about the state of the economy and what it has done to clothing prices when Rachel joins him.

"Come on Kurt, just be a cat. That way you can wear those new black skinny jeans that you got. They make your ass look great, and I know you're looking to impress a certain someone," Rachel says with a wink.

Kurt flushes but smiles nonetheless. His ass does look good in those jeans, and it was the precise reason he bought them. After a few more minutes of searching he gives up.

"Fine, even though it's incredibly cliché and an excuse girl's use to wear as little clothing as possible, I'll do it."

Rachel squeals in delight and tugs Kurt over to the other side of the room where the tight, black turtleneck is.

"Just wear this with the black jeans and you can borrow the cat ears and tail I have leftover from last year's production of the Arisitocats."

Kurt nods. They are heading over to the register when he asks, "Oh, did Blaine talk to you about bringing his friends to the Halloween party?"

"Yeah I told him of course they could come so they are. One's name is Jeff and the other I forget. Mitch? Nick maybe?"

"It's Nick," Kurt says.

"Right, yeah well I think we should try to set one of them up with Mercedes. I mean who wouldn't want to date a cute, preppy singer?"

"I don't know… it seems to me that she has had her eyes on Sam for a while," he responds.

Rachel's face lights up like a Christmas tree at this information and Kurt starts to regret telling her.

"But I don't know anything for sure so don't do anything drastic," Kurt says, backpedaling fast.

Rachel shoos away his concerns and says, "Of course, of course."

Kurt sighs and shakes his head but lets the topic drop as they walk out of the store. On the way home, Rachel talks nonstop about how much fun the party is going to be, and Kurt can't help but become a bit excited himself.

* * *

It's Halloween night, and Kurt is currently freaking out because Blaine and his friends will be here in less than half an hour. What if they hate him? What if they tell Blaine he should stop hanging out with him? The worry must show on Kurt's face because Mercedes walks over and tells him to calm down.

"It's going to be fine Kurt. Now lighten up, this is a party after all," she says.

Just then, Rachel bursts into her bedroom and asks Mercedes to braid her hair. She's going as a princess and her costume is a hideous bubblegum pink gown that reaches her feet. Also included is a cheesy wand with a star on top that she insists on carrying everywhere.

"I set out the bowl of candy on the front steps so trick-or-treaters won't bother us," Rachel informs them.

After Mercedes does Rachel's hair, she goes to the bathroom to put the finishing touches on her costume. She's being a diva which includes a sparkly gold dress accompanied by a black feather boa and a fake microphone headset. A little while earlier, Kurt was quite shocked to find out that Sam and Mercedes had a summer fling. They ended it because Sam was suppose to move away because his father got a job in Kentucky. However, at the last second, his dad found a job in town so they stayed. Recently, they've started hanging out again but nothing is official yet.

Rachel begins chattering about the party at this point. Kurt tunes her out as his thoughts drift back to Blaine. He wouldn't tell Kurt what he was dressing as because he wants it to be a surprise. So Kurt, in turn, didn't tell Blaine what his costume was either.

Eventually Rachel says they should move to the basement where the party will be held to wait for guests. They're not down there five minutes when the doorbell rings and Rachel goes to get it. Puck, Sam, and Finn come bounding down the stairs and Puck goes immediately to the liquor cabinet. He's dressed as a cop which Kurt finds ironic considering how often he complains about them. Sam has on a cowboy costume and in the two minutes since they've arrived, Puck has already made multiple Brokeback Mountain jokes. Kurt rolls his eyes and turns to talk with Rachel but she's busy chewing out Finn.

"Finn," she practically whines, "You're supposed to dress as something different than what you are. You play football so that's not even really a costume!"

Even though Finn has practically two feet on Rachel, he's cowering under her stare. The doorbell rings a second later, and Kurt goes up to answer it. Standing at the door are Santana, Brittney, and Sugar who are all very scantily dressed. Santana and Brittney are in candy striper uniforms and Sugar is wearing a red leotard with nothing else but pointed ears. Kurt assumes she's a devil.

Santana hums in approval after looking Kurt up and down and says, "If that costume doesn't make Anderson get his head out of his ass and into yours, I don't know what will."

Kurt blushes as Santana's words bring completely inappropriate, but not totally unwelcome, images to his mind. He doesn't grace her comment with an answer and instead ushers them downstairs. Within ten minutes, the entire Glee club minus Blaine has arrived and except for Kurt, Mercedes, and Sam, everyone is on their way to being drunk.

When the doorbell rings again Kurt hustles to answer it knowing it must be Blaine. He pauses once he gets to the front hallway, taking a moment to compose himself, before he opens the door. When he does he sees three firefighters standing on the doorstep, he blanches for a moment before Blaine takes off his helmet.

"Hi!" he says with what can only be described as puppy-like enthusiasm. His entire face is lit up with a grin and his hair is already starting to curl despite the gel.

As Kurt moves to let them in, Blaine seems to notice his costume for the first time. His eyes widen as they roam up and down Kurt's body. He swallows hard.

"And these are…" Kurt prompts looking at Jeff and Nick.

"Oh, right, yes, this is Jeff," Blaine says nodding to his left, "and this is Nick."

His flustered tone makes Kurt giggle and he's glad Rachel convinced him to wear this costume. Jeff and Nick take off their helmets too and he notices Nick is shorter with dark hair where as Jeff is a little gangly and has a mop of blond hair.

"And guys, this is Kurt," Blaine says.

"Ah...the infamous Kurt," Jeff says with a mischievous glint in his eye. "We've heard a lot about you."

"Only good things I hope," Kurt responds with a nervous laugh.

"Oh my gosh Kurt is so amazing! He's funny and nice and a great singer and fashionable and just everything he does is so wonderful!" Jeff says in a mocking, high-pitched tone.

"Shut up," Blaine says as he shoves Jeff.

Nick laughs and says, "Come on Blaine, we've never had anything to tease you about before. Well, besides the gap-attack last year."

Blaine flushes profusely at this statement, and Kurt makes a mental note to ask him about that later. Kurt leads the boys to the basement and when they enter, Blaine clears his throat to make an announcement.

"Everyone, these are my two friends Jeff and Nick."

The Glee club nods in acknowledgment and Jeff immediately runs over to the booze table. Nick sulks off after him grumbling about the woes of being the designated driver. Jeff comes back a minute later and hands a drink to Blaine before pulling Kurt's fake tail hard causing him to yelp in surprise. He laughs wildly before running off again to go talk with Puck.

"Sorry about that," Blaine says, "he can be kind of crazy."

Kurt raises an eyebrow. "Kind of?"

Blaine laughs at that. "By the way, I really like your costume."

Kurt practically preens at the compliment and subconsciously stands up straighter. "I like yours too. How did you get one that looks so authentic?"

"Nick's dad is an actual firefighter so he let us borrow a couple of the old suits they had."

"Very cool. So are you planning on drinking a lot tonight?" Kurt asks nodding at the drink in Blaine's hand.

Blaine laughs again and shakes his head. "Nah, what about you?"

"Definitely not. After a not so fun experience with alcohol sophomore year, I swore off the stuff at least until I'm in college."

Blaine opens his mouth the respond but suddenly Rachel is there and she's pulling Kurt away.

"Come sing with me!" she says while continuing to drag him towards the stage.

"Already Rachel? The party just started."

If Rachel hears him she pays no attention to it because she's already on stage and popping a CD into the karaoke machine.

"Fine," he resigns, "what are we singing?"

"4 minutes."

Kurt raises an eyebrow in surprise because this is an unusual song choice for Rachel but as a huge Madonna fan he is not complaining. The music starts and Kurt is instantly at ease even though most eyes are on them. Kurt starts off standing in one place, as he usually does, but by the end of the song he is really getting into it. He struts around the stage singing loudly and even does a few dance moves. When the song ends there are whoops from his friends and one catcall that he thinks came from Santana. Kurt searches the room and smirks when he sees Blaine leaning up against the back wall, his eyes as wide as saucers. He hands Rachel the microphone and hops off the stage to make his way over to Blaine.

"So how'd you like it?" Kurt asks feigning innocence.

Blaine gulps and stutters, "It-wow um, that was fantastic. Really just great-uh...singing I mean."

Kurt fights back a laugh at his response and Blaine excuses himself to go to the bathroom a moment later. Rachel and Mercedes had spent a good part of the afternoon telling Kurt that Blaine had a huge crush on him.

"You guys hangout all the time and he's always looking at you," Mercedes had said and Rachel agreed.

He wasn't convinced at the time but after tonight he's thinking they might be right. Blaine seems like the type of guy who isn't afraid to show his feeling and since Blaine's never made a move before Kurt assumed he didn't like him like that. Now he's not so sure but the question is why wouldn't Blaine just tell him?

He shakes his head of the thoughts and decides to revisit them later. The party continues on and only gets more rowdy the drunker people get. A very wasted Jeff and Puck, who seem to have really hit it off, actually get up on stage and sing Lucky by Jason Mraz. Kurt thinks he sees Nick videotaping it and laughs while thinking that is probably the most powerful blackmail ever. Rachel even gets Blaine to get up and sing a surprisingly good rendition of Don't You Want Me.

After the song Rachel gets up and announces that they're going to play spin the bottle so everyone goes over to one corner of the room. Kurt declines to play because the only person in the room he wants to kiss is Blaine and he doesn't want it to be a drunken kiss. Well, a drunken kiss on Blaine's part that is. About an hour ago, Blaine threw the idea of not getting drunk out the window and now he is positively smashed. The game ends after two rounds anyways because Rachel's spin lands on Puck and they proceed to make out in front of a very angry Finn.

"Get off my girlfriend!" Finn roars and pushes Puck away.

"Not my fault you can't keep her satisfied," Puck says as he saunters away to get another drink.

Blaine suddenly comes up behind Kurt and grabs his hand pulling him to the middle of the dance floor. Sometime during the last five minutes, Blaine took off his fireman coat because now he is in a sweat soaked wife-beater that leaves nothing to the imagination. Kurt can't help but let his eyes wander all over Blaine's chest and stomach.

"Come on let's dance!" Blaine shouts over the music.

Their dancing is crazy and sloppy but fun. They stay a reasonable distance away from each other, nothing like the raunchy dancing that is going on in the corner between Santana and Brittney which looks like it's on its way something Kurt really doesn't want to see. After a few more songs, Kurt and Blaine collapse on the coach covered in sweat and breathing hard. A very annoyed Nick comes over a few minutes later dragging Jeff, who only appears to be half conscious.

"Come on man, I can drop you off on our way," Nick says to Blaine.

"Wait you're not staying at Blaine's house?" Kurt asks.

"No, Jeff's grandmother lives not too far from here and she's out of town so we're going to crash there for the night. We have to get up really early tomorrow morning in order to get back to Westerville."

"I can just take him home. I live right down the street anyways."

Blaine, who hasn't said a word during this conversation, slings an arm around Kurt and slurs, "Really? You would do that for me? You're the best friend ever!"

"Thanks Kurt, you're the best," Nick says looking relieved that he only has to drag one drunk friend home.

"Come on," Kurt says once Nick and Jeff have cleared out, "let's get you home."

Blaine makes it to the car without too much help from Kurt and although he looks slightly green the entire ride, he doesn't throw up which is something Kurt is incredibly grateful for. They pull up in front of Blaine's house, and Kurt notices that all of the lights are off.

"Is anybody home?" he asks Blaine.

Blaine shakes his head and says, "My mom and sister are staying over at a friend's house."

Kurt helps him out of the car and Blaine leans a lot of his weight on him as they walk to the door. When they get there, Kurt tries to open the door but it's locked.

"Blaine, where's your key?"

Blaine shrugs in response and says something Kurt can't hear.

"What?"

"I don't know," he mumbles.

"Well what the hell are we going to do?" Kurt asks a little panicked.

When Blaine shrugs again Kurt huffs loudly before walking back to the car with him.

"Let's just go back to my house, you can crash there."

By the time they get to Kurt's house Blaine is almost completely out so Kurt has to lug him into the house virtually on his own.

"Shit!" Kurt hisses quietly when he bumps his knee on the side of the staircase.

They make it up the rest of the stairs relatively unharmed and when Kurt enters his room he practically shoves Blaine onto his bed. Blaine falls asleep literally the second his head hits the pillow so Kurt is left with a decision. On one hand his dad will be furious if he finds out they slept in the same bed together but on the other, if Kurt's not there when Blaine wakes up he's going to be completely confused. It's the prospect of having to walk all the way downstairs to the guest room in the basement that makes the decision for Kurt.

He lies down gingerly on the left side of the bed, as far away as possible from Blaine. Even though he's not doing anything but sleep, being in the same bed as Blaine without his permission somehow feels like he's taking advantage of him. Kurt doesn't think he'll be able to fall asleep with all his thoughts about Blaine racing around and the fact that he is less than a foot away and in the same bed, but the next thing he knows he's being woken up by the sounds of his dad making breakfast.

* * *

**On a side note, I just got my copy of The Land of Stories and I'm loving it so far! If any of you are reading it I would love to know what your thoughts are on it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Thanks again to anyone who reviewed/favorited/followed this story, you keep me motivated! **

* * *

Kurt sits up, rubs the sleep out of his eyes, and looks over at Blaine. Throughout the course of the night Blaine had shifted so he was laying down sideways, taking up almost the entire bed. Kurt had stayed huddled to one side to avoid touching him. Blaine's still asleep, so Kurt gets up and goes over to his vanity to begin his morning routine. Routines are good because they always help calm Kurt down. He likes having a steady schedule; it helps him feel in control. Kurt's plan is to wait until his dad leaves for the shop before waking Blaine up and getting him home. His plan is foiled when suddenly Burt is knocking at the door and walking in.

"Hey bud I'm leaving for the shop but I-" Burt stops talking after realizing it's not Kurt who's in the bed.

Blaine half sits up and rubs his face looking towards the door. "Huh? Where am I?" he mumbles before collapsing back onto the bed and, apparently, falling right back asleep.

Burt looks at Kurt with an unreadable expression and asks him to come out into the hallway to talk.

"You have some explaining to do," Burt says with crossed arms.

"Blaine got locked out of his house last night so I told him he could crash here," Kurt says, deciding to leave out the part about Blaine being drunk.

"Mhmm," Burt hums in disbelief. "And why didn't he stay in the guest room or on the couch or somewhere other than your bed?"

"He was tired?" Kurt offers lamely but, after seeing Burt's expression, he sighs and tells the truth. He's never been good at lying, especially to his dad. "He was drunk and I didn't want him waking up in a strange place and being confused."

"You guys are drinking now?" Burt asks, looking a bit distraught.

"Not me. And we had designated drivers so it was safe."

Burt huffs out a laugh at that and says, "There's nothing safe about teenage drinking."

When Kurt doesn't answer, Burt softens up and says, "But I'm glad you told me. And that you made sure Blaine got somewhere safe. Now why don't you go wake him up and take him home. I'm sure Sally is worried sick about him."

Kurt nods and says goodbye to his dad before entering his room again. Blaine had definitely fallen back asleep so he walks over to the bed and gently shakes him awake. He groans and rolls over burying his head into the pillows and Kurt has to fight back a giggle at how adorable it is.

"Come on Blaine it's time to wake up," Kurt says, shaking him even harder.

He finally sits up and mumbles a bunch of things Kurt can't make out.

"What was that?" Kurt asks.

"What happened?" he finally manages.

"We went to Rachel's Halloween party last night. You got really drunk, and when I tried to take you home the house was locked. So, I brought you here, remember?"

Blaine nods but Kurt isn't convinced that Blaine actually processed what he said, let alone remembered it all.

"Let's get some coffee and painkillers into you before you go home," Kurt says, grabbing Blaine's hand and forcing him out of bed.

They walk to the kitchen, and Kurt goes to start the coffee before joining Blaine at the table.

"Kuuuuuuurt," Blaine groans, and Kurt can't help the blood from running south because he's imagined Blaine saying that in quite a different situation, "my head hurts."

"Well that's what happens when you drink your weight in alcohol," Kurt says with a smile.

Blaine groans again and rests his head on the table, not saying anything else until the coffee is ready. When Kurt hands him the drink and some advil a few minutes later, he sits up and takes them gratefully. The boys sit in silence for a few minutes, sipping their coffee before Blaine says he better be getting home so his mom won't worry. Kurt nods and puts on his slippers before grabbing his keys and walking out to the car.

When they stop in front of Blaine's house two minutes later, Blaine turns to Kurt, and he notices that this is the first time all morning he seems to be somewhat coherent.

"Thank you so much Kurt. I don't really know…" he trails off, then continues, "but anyways just thanks for being an awesome friends and letting me stay over and everything. " He opens his mouth as if to say something else but then closes it and shoots Kurt one last smile before getting out.

* * *

Tuesdays is the worst day of the week in Kurt's opinion. Yeah, Monday's suck, but it's the first day back so you just had two whole days off. But by Tuesday, you are already behind on sleep and annoyed by school. You still have almost the whole week ahead of you. Today was even worse than usual because for some reason Blaine is mad at him. Well, Kurt doesn't know that for sure, but judging from the way he's been basically ignoring him for days, it's a pretty good guess.

Kurt walks into his room, throwing his backpack on the floor, and flops down on his bed. He only lifts his head up for a second to send Rachel a quick text before collapsing back down. It's only about five minutes later that his phone starts ringing and he is forced to roll over to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Hi Kurt. What's wrong?" Rachel asks cutting right to the chase.

"It's Blaine," Kurt admits with a sigh, "I think he's mad at me."

"What why? What did you do?" she accuses.

"I didn't do anything!" Kurt says angrily. Realizing that yelling will do no good, he takes a deep breath and says, "I mean nothing that I know of."

"When did it start?"

"Right after your party I guess. That weeken-" Kurt starts but Rachel interrupts him.

"Wait what did happen after the party? I saw that you took him home rather than his friends."

"Oh right well…" He hadn't told anyone that Blaine had stayed over, for what reason he's not really sure, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. "I was going to take him home but he got locked out of his house so he stayed at mine."

"I see. So had he said anything about it since?" she asks.

"No. He ignored my texts all weekend which didn't seem strange at first, because I figured he was grounded and had gotten his phone taken away, but when I picked him up on Monday he said he hadn't been grounded, he was just busy all weekend. And since then he's just been unresponsive to any conversations I've tried to start. He always looks distracted, and I swear he's been avoiding me in the hallways," Kurt says all in one breath.

"Kurt, calm down," Rachel says. "I bet you he's just embarrassed," she says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Embarrassed?" Kurt echoes.

"Yes embarrassed. I admittedly don't remember much from the party but I do remember him being completely smashed. I bet you had to practically drag him into your house."

"Well yes," Kurt admits. "And also he uh, ended up sleeping in my bed."

"What?" Rachel squawks.

"Nothing happened!" Kurt quickly assures her. "He just passed out there as soon as when got to my room, and I couldn't move him."

"Then that's definitely it. That dapper gentleman appearance of his was totally ruined by his drunken night out."

Kurt thinks it over for a second but still isn't convinced. Blaine doesn't embarrass easily, and when he does, he doesn't dwell on it.

"I guess I could ask him about it and see what he says," he finally responds.

"Yeah, talk to him about it tomorrow. I'm sure you'll have this whole mess cleared up in no time."

Kurt spends the night tossing and turning trying to figure out what's up with Blaine. He's almost positive it's not embarrassment, but he's also pretty sure it's not anger. Blaine just seems… distracted. Distracted by what is the question though. By the next morning, Kurt knows he can't go through another day of not knowing.

"Are you okay? You've been acting weird lately," Kurt says in the silence that's stretched since Blaine got in the car.

"Huh?" he asks looking as if he's only just realized Kurt is there.

"It's just you've been acting really different lately. Like quiet and distracted and I noticed it started right after Rachel's party and I don't know if you're embarrassed that you got drunk but if you are you don't need to be because everyone is kind of an asshole when they're drunk. Not that I think you were an asshole! I actually thought it was pretty funny. But anyways, you don't act like yourself. Finn actually has this theory that there are different types of drunks like there's a weepy hysterical one and a needy one and… well I can't remember the rest but the bottom line is you don't have to feel awkward about that."

As soon as he's done talking Kurt mentally curses himself for rambling on for so long and for bringing up the party in the first place since he'd pretty much eliminated embarrassment as the cause. He stares straight ahead and holds his breath as he waits for Blaine's response.

"Kurt," Blaine breathes out, "I am so sorry. I know I've been a horrible friend lately. It's not because of the party or anything, although I'm sorry for that too. I made quite a fool out of myself, and I was pretty out of it the next morning so I'm not sure I even properly thanked you. I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

"Do you want to talk about it? You can talk to me about anything."

"Thanks but this is just something I have to deal with on my own," Blaine responds.

Kurt grips the wheel tightly and tries not to grind his teeth. He hates when people treat him like he's too young or naive to understand. It hurts even more coming from someone he cares about so much.

Blaine, seeing Kurt's anger, quickly says, "No, Kurt, please don't be offended by this. It's not that I don't trust you or think you wouldn't understand or anything like that. I just need some time to process what's going on by myself before telling anyone else. You can understand that, right?"

Kurt doesn't really understand, but after seeing the pleading look in Blaine's eyes, he gives in.

"And I'm sorry again for being such a crappy friend. That's going to end right now. Have you started this week's assignment for Glee yet?"

The rest of the car ride is filled with idle chatter and Kurt is grateful for the return of normalcy. They continue talking as they walk into the school. Kurt is just thinking that things are looking up when he's hit in the face with a grape slushie. He wipes the drink off his face in time to see Azimio and another jock high fiving as they walk away.

"You shouldn't have broke our deal you little twink!" Azimio calls over his shoulder.

Kurt looks over and sees that Blaine is literally shaking with rage. He puts an hand on his forearm and say, "Don't. They're not worth it Blaine."

"But look what they did to you!" he practically shouts and when others around him flinch, he lowers his voice. "You can't keep letting them get away with this."

Kurt is ready to argue but throws up his hands at Blaine's determined expression. To be honest, the bullying really has gotten out of control. Every since Blaine stopped letting the jocks copy off him in math, the bullying has increased tenfold. Locker shoves, slushies, name-calling; Kurt has to deal with it all. And it's only Kurt. Azimio realized pretty quickly that the way to rile Blaine up is to hurt Kurt, not him.

"Fine. After school today we can talk to Principal Figgins."

Blaine's face lights up as if he's just won the lottery, and he hastily offers to help Kurt cleanup before class.

* * *

Sitting in the office's waiting room, Kurt is transported back to the following year when he was here with his dad ready to discuss Karofsky. That meeting had produced minimal punishment for Karofsky even though he had threatened Kurt's life, so he has very low expectations for today.

"Come in," Figgins calls as Sue leaves the office, muttering something about her Cheerios. "Now what is this all about?" he asks once they've seated themselves.

"There are a number of kids, the main one being Azimio, who have been bullying Kurt on a daily basis," Blaine says right away.

"I see Mr.…"

"Anderson."

"Right, Mr. Anderson. Look, Mr. Hummel and I have had many discussions on this topic and I'm sorry to say there's just not much I can do. Boy will be boys and all that. High school is hard for everyone."

Kurt wants to say I told you so to Blaine but he just can't because of the kicked puppy look on his face. Plus, he knows Blaine isn't the enemy here.

"So you're telling me that you're just going to allow those kids to keep harassing Kurt?" Blaine asks, his sadness quickly turning to anger.

"Unless the altercations become deliberately violent or another threat in made on Mr. Hummel's life, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do," he says with a shrug.

At this point Kurt stands up and grabs Blaine's hand so he can tug him out of the office. Once they're back in the hallway, Blaine seems to truly process what happened, and he turns to Kurt pulling him into a tight hug. Kurt squeaks quietly in surprise but then melts into Blaine's embrace.

"I'm sorry Kurt," he whispers after he lets go of him.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Kurt assures him.

"But I couldn't help you. You were right, Figgins essentially ignored me."

"It's not your job to save everyone," Kurt says.

"It doesn't mean I can't try," he responds stubbornly.

Kurt sighs because he knows that Blaine's hero complex isn't completely healthy. Regardless, he can't deny that it feels good to have somebody fighting on his side.

* * *

Over the course of the next week things go relatively back to normal. Blaine's still a little spacey at times, but Kurt realizes he has to give him some breathing room. He has faith that Blaine will come to him with whatever he's dealing with in his own time. Until then, Kurt decides to hold off on telling Blaine how he feels about him. Blaine has enough to deal with right now without that extra burden being put on him.

Kurt is spending his Saturday morning as he usually does, eating a BLT and watching last week's episode of the Bachelorette. While he admits it's a trashy show and finds it unrealistic that your soul mate would just happen to be one of the thirty contestants chosen to be on the show, he enjoys it all the same. The show only has about five minutes left and Kurt is in the middle of freaking out because it looks like his favorite is about to go home when the show freezes. He looks around in confusion and sees his dad standing in the corner of the room with the remote in his hand.

"Hey kiddo, Donny is out sick today so I'm going to need your help in the shop," he says.

Kurt groans internally. He doesn't normally resent working in the shop, but he does when it interferes with his relaxing time. He use to help out a lot more often, almost every weekend, but eventually Burt must have noticed his son's disinterest because he hired Donny to take his place. Donny is what most people would call a Lima loser. Someone who is destined to stay in Lima for the rest of their life and be lucky to work a minimum wage job, but Kurt likes him all the same. He's always been kind to Kurt, even after he came out, and that was more than most of the town did. Even though Kurt likes Donny, he always feels a little guilty Burt had to hire him in the first place. He knows his dad had hoped for a son that loved working in the shop and who would eventually take it over after he retired. Kurt can't be that person, and Burt knows it, but it doesn't mean he won't help out when he can.

"Sure thing dad, but can I finish this show first? There's only about five minutes left."

Burt agrees, and Kurt finishes the show, cheering loudly when Jeff survives the rose ceremony. He then goes upstairs to get changed. He puts on his grease stained Hummel Tires and Lube shirt, his baggy, ripped up jeans, and old combat boots before heading out to the shop. When he gets there, he sees his dad getting ready to roll under a car. He quickly shoos him away.

"Come on, Dad. You know what the doctor said. You're supposed to be taking it easy and leaving the majority of the manual labor to your employees," Kurt scolds.

"It just needs a valve cover gasket replacement, I could do it in my sleep," he complains.

"And so can I. Now, why don't you go man the register while I fix this up?" Kurt says crossing his arms.

Burt gives in and heads over to the shop office. Kurt swears he hears him mumble something about him being a fun-sucker. Kurt laughs quietly to himself and starts humming as he walks over to where all the car parts are stored. His thoughts happily drift back to last night, when he finally got some details out of Burt about his relationship with Sally.

"Do you realize what time it is mister?" Kurt asked in mock sternness when Burt had walked in the front.

Burt had jumped slightly and even blushed a little as he took his coat off and put it in the front closet. He didn't respond to Kurt's question and instead moved into the kitchen. Kurt stayed right on his tail, not willing to give up that easy.

"Come on Dad, this is the first person you've dated since Mom died and I just want to know what she's like," Kurt said quietly. Burt had spent a lot of time with Sally over the last two months but for the life of him, Kurt couldn't get anything out of his dad about her.

Burt sighed and rubbed the back of neck, looking anywhere but at Kurt. "She's great," he finally said, "funny, kind, and one of the sweetest women I've ever met. I haven't felt like this about anyone since your mom."

Kurt smiled big at that and said, "Well, I'm glad she makes you happy."

And Kurt really is glad they're getting along so well. His dad hasn't been this cheery in—well…Kurt doesn't know how long. Snapping back to reality, he grabs the part he needs and heads back to the Chevy Malibu. He's just gotten down on the creeper and rolled under the car when he hears footsteps and a voice calling out in the shop.

"Hello Mr. Humm- I mean Burt…" the voice says hesitantly.

Kurt rolls back out from under the car and is planning to direct the person to the back office. He stops short when he sees who it is. "… Blaine?"

"Kurt?" the boy asks whipping around the look at him. "I-I didn't know you worked here."

"I don't usually," Kurt says, standing up and wiping his hands on his jeans, "but my dad needed some help today."

"Wow uh you look…" Blaine trails off while looking Kurt up and down.

Kurt flushes and absentmindedly runs a hand through his hair, a habit he thought he kicked years ago. "Yeah I know I look awful. But I'll take looking sloppy for a couple hours over ruining any of my normal clothes."

"That's not what I meant at all," Blaine says and Kurt looks over at him and sees that his pupils are blown just like they were at the party.

This makes him blush even harder and he's at a loss for what to say. Blaine is suddenly much closer than Kurt remembers and his eyes are flickering between Kurt's eyes and lips. It feels as if all the air has been sucked from the room and Blaine is leaning towards him, their lips inches apart, when the office door slams open.

"Blaine is that you?" Burt calls, effectively bringing the two boys to their senses and causing them to jolt apart.

Blaine's chest is heaving as if he's just run a marathon and Burt gives him a strange look. "Everything alright?" he asks.

"Yes-yeah I-I'm fine," he stutters. "I'm here to pick up that steering wheel cover my mom saw the other day," he says, recovering slightly.

"Oh right your mom said you'd be stopping by. Let me just go run and get it, I have it back in the office."

"Blaine," Kurt begins as Burt starts to walk away but Blaine turns quickly to follow the man. Kurt huffs out an annoyed breath and leans against the car to wait for Blaine to get back. He can hear Blaine saying goodbye to Burt and a second later he's hustling by Kurt, obviously trying to avoid him. "Blaine, wait!" he calls out running to catch up with him.

Blaine turns around but doesn't look at Kurt as he says, "Sorry Kurt I…uh, I have to go like right now but I-I'll text you later okay? Alright-uh bye," and before Kurt can react, he's out the door and halfway down the street.

Kurt stands there staring at Blaine's retreating figure until it rounds a corner and goes out of sight. He eventually turns around and yells to his dad that's he taking a break, despite having been there for only ten minutes. He goes to the bathroom and stares at his reflection for a while before his lips twitch up to form a small smile. He has a plan.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello everybody! At long last here it is, the chapter you've all been waiting for. It was hell for me to write because I wanted it to be perfect so I hope you all like it!**

* * *

There was a reason Kurt never went to the Lima Bean on the weekend and that reason was Sebastian Smythe. Sebastian works at the Lima Bean and Kurt met him a year prior the first day he started working. Kurt was with Rachel and Mercedes and with coffee in hand they were walking to a booth near the back when he heard a voice say loudly, "If all the guys who come in here have an ass like that then I think I'm going to like this job."

Kurt had whipped his head around to see who he was talking about and saw Sebastian smirking at him and giving him a wink when they made eye contact. Rachel and Mercedes thought it was hilarious and that he should go for him but Kurt knew right away that Sebastian wasn't what he wanted. Kurt is a romantic at heart and a guy who makes crass remarks like that is not someone he wants to associate with. After the comment, Sebastian came over to their table to introduce himself and asked for Kurt's number. Kurt had point blank refused and still does to this day.

Although he'll never admit it, Sebastian's flirting originally boosted Kurt's self confidence a bit. To his knowledge, no one had ever thought he was attractive in any way, so even though Sebastian was an ass, it felt good. That feeling quickly faded when Kurt realized that Sebastian flirts with anything that moves. One time Sebastian made a comment about Puck and Kurt was sure he was going to beat him up. Instead, Puck merely smiled and said that while he didn't swing that way, the guy certainly has good taste. Kurt eventually got use to Sebastian's attention, and it has become simply an ignorable nuisance, but he still tries to avoid the place on weekends since that's the only time Sebastian works.

But today, Saturday, Kurt is going to the Lima Bean and taking Blaine, because he knows Sebastian will be there. Blaine likes him, Kurt is sure of that. He doesn't miss the way Blaine gets flustered when they're in close courters, or how he has that special smile that Kurt notices only appears when he's looking at him, or how he looks at him with, as Santana had put it, heart eyes. What he can't figure out, though, is why Blaine won't act on his feelings. A few times Kurt has sworn Blaine is about to kiss him but suddenly he pulls away for no apparent reason. Kurt knows he could make the first move, and he will if he has to, but he wants to do one more test to make sure Blaine really does like him.

The test is going to the Lima Bean with Blaine and encountering a flirty Sebastian. It's possible that Blaine's not the jealous type, but most people will at least show a little discomfort if some sleazy guy is flirting with the person they like. Some hostile behavior towards Sebastian from the usual polite and proper Blaine will confirm Kurt's suspicions, and he'll be willing to finally let Blaine know how he feels.

As the two of them walk into the café, Kurt looks around to seek out Sebastian and sees him wiping down a table nearby. He hears to bell above the door ring, and he glances over doing a double take when he notices that it's Kurt. Sebastian immediately stops working and saunters over to where Kurt and Blaine are standing looking at the menu.

"Well if it isn't Kurt Hummel," he drawls, "I haven't seen you around lately. You haven't been avoiding me have you?"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Kurt returns, being way more flirty than usual.

Sebastian is visibly taken aback at Kurt's lack of a sarcastic remark but takes it in stride. "Hmm somebody's in a good mood today, any chance I could get that number now?"

"Not today," Kurt says with a smile. "Oh Sebastian this is my friend-"

"Blaine Anderson," Sebastian interrupts with a look of delight on his face. "I cannot believe I didn't recognize you without the blazer!" he exclaims.

"You two know each other?" Kurt asks his eyebrows furrowing. This was definitely not part of the plan.

"Blaine and I are old Warbler buddies! Shame you left Blaine, the Warblers lost not only their most talented but also their most attractive member," he says shamelessly looking Blaine up and down.

Up until now Blaine, with a pained smile on his face, had managed to avoid saying anything. "It's good to see you too Sebastian, but Kurt and I should really get our drinks and get going," he says moving slowly towards to line.

Sebastian sticks his bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout and says, "Well you guys better come visit soon. Better yet, next time you guys are feeling bored give me a call and I'm sure I could spice things up a bit," and winks.

It takes Kurt a moment to get what he is insinuating and when he finally does he turns toward the line pretending not to have heard. Blaine also ignores the comment, but Kurt can see the tips of his ears are red. With a last wave, Sebastian leaves them, and Kurt sighs in relief until he remembers that he had come in here with a plan. He feels like slapping himself in the face because with the shock of Blaine and Sebastian already knowing each other, Kurt had forgotten to look at Blaine to see if he seemed jealous. Yes, he'd been pretty dismissive of Sebastian, but that could have just been due to fact that he already knows him and doesn't want to deal with him.

"So how do you know Sebastian?" Blaine asks, interrupting Kurt's thoughts.

"I don't really. He just talks to me every time I come in here, which actually isn't often on weekends since he's started working. He's rude, tactless, and smells like Craigslist," Kurt says lifting his nose in the air.

Blaine chuckles and says, "Yeah, he's not one of my favorite people."

Kurt smiles because only Blaine could describe Sebastian so politely. "What, you mean to tell me you and Sebastian weren't BFF's?" Kurt asks mockingly.

"I think he had a little more than friendship on his mind," Blaine says, laughing again but also blushing a little.

Now it's Kurt's turn to laugh and he responds, "I can bet. It seems the list of people Sebastian hasn't tried to get with is forever dwindling."

After they order and get their drinks, they leave in fear of Sebastian trying to join them if they sat down. Kurt is pulling on to their street when Blaine surprises him by asking if anybody is home at his house.

"Um no… why?" Kurt asks.

"I was wondering if we could go there and uh… talk." Blaine says while rubbing the back of his neck and looking slightly nervous.

Kurt agrees, thinking this could be the perfect opportunity to take things with Blaine to the next level and pulls into his driveway cutting the engine. The walk up to the house is slightly awkward, and it becomes even more so when they get inside.

"I guess we can go upstairs," Kurt says, shuffling his feet and not looking at Blaine. _This is silly, _he tells himself,_ Blaine's been over plenty of times before_, but this time something is different. There's tension in the air, and he knows Blaine can feel it too.

When they enter the bedroom Kurt sits on the edge of the bed with impeccable posture, something he does when he's nervous, and pats the empty spot next to him. Blaine ignores the gesture however and begins to pace the room while occasionally running a hand through his hair. Then, after remembering the gel in it, quickly puts it back down to wipe it on his jeans. He seems to be involved in some sort inner turmoil and doesn't look up until Kurt coughs quietly.

"Kurt," Blaine begins looking intently at Kurt, "you are honestly one of the most amazing people I've ever met. I love the way you can go from being fun and sarcastic to gentle and sweet in a matter of seconds. You're also one of the bravest people I've ever met, much more brave then I'll ever be, and you've helped me overcome some of my greatest demons. I use to walk the halls of McKinley afraid not of the bullies, but of the way they made me feel. The guilt from being bullied, the constant feeling that it was somehow my fault-you helped get rid of that. You gave me a confidence in myself I haven't had since I came out. Kurt, you're so special and unique and… I've been looking for you forever.

"Why do I feel like there's a 'but' coming?" Kurt asks quietly.

"Kurt, I wish I could give you everything, because you deserve it, and god knows I want to give it to you, but I just don't think I can right now. I'm not good at romance but I want to try Kurt, because I really like you, and I've never felt like this about anyone before." Blaine says as he starts pacing again.

"Wait I'm confused… you want to try what? A relationship? But you just said you can't…" Kurt trails off.

"I want to be with you Kurt but what about our parents? I mean they're dating, so wouldn't that be weird if we were too?"

"I hadn't really thought about it," Kurt began because he actually hadn't. His fantasies of being with Blaine were never very detailed, just fuzzy pictures of the two of them together and happy. He didn't have to deal with complications like this in his daydreams. "But I really don't think they would mind if we just told them the truth."

Blaine bites his lip and says, "Maybe… but then there are also the jocks at school. I mean look how they're treating us just because they _think_ we're dating. If we actually were I'm sure things would get way worse."

Kurt had considered that and while he was willing to risk it, he can understand why Blaine wouldn't be. The last time he showed interest in a guy at school he was beat up for it. "So what are you saying? That we should have a secret relationship?"

Blaine cringes slightly at the words but eventually nods his head. Blaine's reasons make sense, even if Kurt doesn't fully agree with them, but there is still one thought niggling at the back of his head. "You're not-" Kurt stops himself, not wanting to accuse Blaine of anything. "...Are you ashamed of me?"

"Kurt no!" Blaine practically gasps and moves to sit next to him on the bed, grabbing his hands and squeezing them tightly. "I wish I could shout it from the rooftops because you're incredible Kurt, and I'd be so lucky to have you."

Then, before Kurt can really process what's happening, Blaine is leaning forward and putting his lips on his. He immediately goes for his top lip, sucking it slightly, causing a shudder to run through Kurt's body. Blaine's lips are warm and soft, and it ignites a feeling of pure bliss to spread through his body. He stays there for a second just enjoying the feeling, before he realizes he should probably do something besides sitting there like a limp doll. He grabs Blaine's face and pulls him in tighter. They're lips are completely smashed together now, and Kurt moves his lips fervently against Blaine's a few more times before pulling away. Blaine is flushed and panting slightly, and Kurt guesses he looks just as disarrayed.

A loopy smile spreads itself across Blaine's face, but he quickly controls it. "I can totally understand if you don't want to be with me," Blaine says. "I hate the fact that your first real relationship has to be a secret so-"

Kurt cuts Blaine off by leaning over and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. When he pulls away, Kurt blushes slightly and it only intensifies when he sees Blaine's wide eyes. But Kurt also feels giddy because he can do that now-he can kiss Blaine whenever he wants to.

"I don't want anyone else. I want you Blaine. You're everything I've ever wanted and more. I know the situations not… ideal, but it's not forever right?"

"Right," Blaine says with a nod.

"Maybe after the class election?" Kurt proposes. "I mean, given that I win there will be new anti-bullying policies so we things should improve on that front."

Blaine hesitates but eventually says, "Probably. We'll see."

After that there's an awkward pause because Kurt wants to kiss Blaine again but he's not sure if Blaine wants that so he's frozen just staring at Blaine's lips. When Kurt finally looks up, he sees Blaine smile at him and then lean in. They kiss again and, while it's rather chaste, it still blows Kurt's mind. The heat radiating off Blaine in combination with his smell and the feel of his lips are enough to overwhelm anyone. It only goes on for a little, though, because Blaine's stomach growls loudly causing Kurt to pull away laughing.

Blaine turns red and says, "Sorry I haven't eaten anything all day."

Kurt continues to laugh and Blaine begins to pout, crossing his arms and turning away from him.

"Fine, fine. Let's go downstairs and get some lunch," Kurt says still smiling.

Blaine perks back up at this and jumps to his feet, offering Kurt his hand. Kurt takes it and allows Blaine to pull him up. He's about to let go when he realizes Blaine has made no move to. He looks up and even though Blaine's cheeks are slightly pink he gives his hand an encouraging squeeze. Kurt smiles and ducks his head while shifting his hand so it's more comfortable in Blaine's before they walk to the kitchen, hand's swinging in between them.

* * *

"Do you even know where we are?" Kurt asks trying to tease but his nerves shone through.

Blaine is taking him on a picnic in Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park for their one week anniversary. When Blaine had told him, Kurt rolled his eyes saying he didn't want to be one of _those _couples who obsessed over every anniversary, but Blaine looked so disappointed that of course he had to give in.

To Kurt, everyday this past week had felt like Christmas. Sure, nothing at school changed between them, and there was only time for a few stolen kisses behind closed doors, but it was more than Kurt ever imagined. The cute texts Blaine sends him throughout the day, the small touches, the way he catches Blaine staring, it all serves to remind him that Blaine truly does care. And when they are alone, it's like something out a fairy tale. It wasn't perfect, he would love to run around and tell everyone (well his friends and family at least) about Blaine, but it was okay for now. There is actually a sort of thrill that comes with having such a big and exciting secret.

"Of course I do," Blaine huffs. "It's right around this corner!"

Kurt realizes where they are going a few seconds before Blaine leaves the path to enter the clearing and he freezes. This is his mom's meadow, with his mom's willow. The place he hasn't visited in almost ten years. Blaine turns to him with a huge smile and gestures wildly to the clearing but his face drops when he sees Kurt.

"Is everything okay?" he asks, his voice laced with concern.

Kurt ignores Blaine and brushes past him, gasping when he sees the place in full. It's even more beautiful than he remembered. The northeast end of the park is surrounded completely by woods except for this one section. The meadow, which is only about the size of his backyard, is covered in lush grass and hundreds of daisies. They were his mother's favorite kind of flower and she always said if she had a girl, she would name her Daisy. But the most spectacular part of the clearing was the giant willow that sat in the middle. It cast a shadow over practically the entire place, which Kurt was thankful for because even when he was little, he hated being in the sun.

Kurt can feel Blaine looking at his back and when he turns around he says, "Kurt, seriously what is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"My mom and I use to come here all the time when I was little," he says with a wistful smile. "I haven't been here since she died."

Kurt thought coming here would make him miss her even more, which is why he stayed away. Now that he's here, though, he's glad he came. This place makes him feel nostalgic but not necessarily in a bad way. This place holds a lot of memories...happy memories. The last few months of his mother's life had been hard on all of them. She was tired and in pain pretty much all of the time. The last time they came here had been right after they found out the chemo hadn't worked and right before it got really bad. His mom said she didn't want to come here anymore because the sickness had taken over every other part of her life, and she wanted this place to stay separate. Burt had offered to take Kurt here after she died but it just didn't feel right, he'd never been there with anyone but her.

Blaine's face softens at Kurt's words and he says, "We can go somewhere else if you like."

Kurt shakes his head. "No, I want to be here. With you," He adds. And it's true, he's never had a connection like he has with Blaine with anyone else. More than anything, Blaine listens to him. He doesn't just hear what Kurt's saying, he actually listens. Whether it's about what stupid thing Rachel did at their last sleepover or his troubles with Karofsky last year, Blaine is always there. Kurt's never really talked about his mom to any of his friends before, but he thinks he might be able to with Blaine.

"Thank you," Blaine responds, his eyes sparkling so much Kurt thinks he might shed a tear. The moment passes however, and they make their way to sit near the tree trunk.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm here," Blaine says as they're laying out the blanket.

Kurt hesitates, but only for a moment, before beckoning for Blaine to follow him. He walks around the tree until he finds it and begins tracing it lightly with his finger. Blaine comes up behind him and wraps his arms around his waist before hooking his chin over his shoulder.

"My mom carved this into the tree the last time we came here," Kurt says softly. It is a lopsided heart with a K and E in it for Kurt and Elizabeth. "This, this was our special place. I actually always wanted to have her buried here but she insisted on cremation. She told me she didn't want to risk coming back as a zombie," he says with a small smile.

"You're mom sounds like an amazing person, Kurt, and I'm honored you would share this place with me."

Kurt smiles brighter and turns his head to catch Blaine's lips in a soft kiss. Then he pulls away and takes Blaine's hand to lead him back to their stuff.

"Come on, let's eat! I'm starving," Kurt exclaims in an attempt to make the conversation lighter. Blaine seems to catch on and while they eat, Kurt's mom isn't brought back up. There is much flirting while they talk and it is still accompanied by the occasional blush because they're both pretty new at this.

"Mmm," Kurt groans after he finishes his sandwich. "Your mom makes the best chicken salad." Kurt flops back on the blanket and closes his eyes, just enjoying the feeling of being full.

"Agreed. Are you sure you don't want a cookie? They're homemade," Blaine says in a sing-song voice.

"Blaine I just ate enough for three people and you did too. I have no idea how you can still be hungry," Kurt says and cracks open one eye to look at him. What he sees makes his eyes bug out of his head and his throat go dry. Some of the chocolate from the cookies got on Blaine's fingers, and he is slowly sucking it off on finger at a time. He's not looking at Kurt and obviously has no idea what effect it's having, so Kurt does the first thing he can think of to get him to stop. He throws a grape at him. The grape hits him right in the nose and he jerks to attention looking very confused until he spies Kurt trying to muffle his laughter.

He narrows his eyes and says, "You have no idea what you just go yourself into, Hummel." With that Blaine lunges across the blanket, snatches up the bag of grapes, and begins pelting them at Kurt.

Kurt laughs loudly and puts both arms up in front of his face as a shield. "Okay, okay, I give up!" he yells after a moment.

Blaine stops firing but quickly moves to straddle Kurt and pin him to the ground. "Say I win and we can call it a truce," he says with a smirk.

Kurt starts to say it but the words get stuck in his throat because Blaine is so close. His face is only inches above Kurt, and he can smell the chocolate on his breath. He tries to keep his eyes on Blaine's, but he can't help but let them flicker down to his lips every couple of seconds.

"What was that?" Blaine teases.

"You win," Kurt finally breathes.

As the soon as the words are out of his mouth, Blaine covers Kurt's lips with his own. The kiss is hard, much more desperate than any of the others have been, and Kurt loves it. Blaine pushes his tongue against Kurt's mouth and he opens up, allowing him entrance. When their tongues meet, Kurt moans loudly and _wow_, they should have been kissing like this a long time ago. Blaine suddenly drops his arms and allows his whole body to be on Kurt. Kurt would have thought the weight would make him feel trapped but it doesn't, it makes him feel safe. It's not very much later that Kurt feels more and more blood moving south, and he begins to wish he wore looser pants. He's about to break the kiss because he's really not ready to go into that territory yet, but Blaine's seems to be on the same page because he breaks it first and rolls off him. They lay there, chests heaving side by side for quite a while.

Eventually, Blaine says, "That was… _wow_."

Kurt laughs and says, "Yeah, me too."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, so the next few chapters are going to be kind of filler-y but they're important for characterization and seeing how Kurt and Blaine's relationship evolves with the problems that come with it being a secret. So just so you know, there's still some angst on the way. Also, you may have noticed I changed the rating to M but don't all you perverts get too excited, there's not really anything in this chapter. I just wanted to make sure I have my bases covered and some day we will get to that point. Alright, I'm done talking, here's the chapter :)**

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"Kurt Elizabeth Hummel," says a deep voice behind him. Kurt whips around, wincing as his elbow hits his locker, and sees Blaine. "I would like to extend to you a formal invitation to Thanksgiving dinner at the Anderson's." Blaine tries to keep a straight face but it soon breaks out in a goofy grin.

Kurt blanches at Blaine's offer. He's never had Thanksgiving dinner with anyone but his immediate family, which for the last ten years has been just him and his dad. All of his grandparents died before he could remember and his mom's sister, Alice, has never been the most reliable person. She's an aspiring writer but hasn't had much luck yet. When Kurt was little she would blow through town and upturn their normal life a couple times a year. Without warning she would appear on the doorstep with nothing but her lone bag and a small gift for Kurt. The gifts were usually little touristy trinkets from whichever country Alice had just come from. She traveled the world stopping in one place only long enough to make enough money to move on to the next one.

But once her sister died Alice stopped coming around. She still sends Kurt a gift on his birthday each year and he talks to her on the phone every once in a while but it's not the same. Kurt misses her; it was just another thing he lost due to that disease.

"Well thanks I'd love to go," Kurt says once he collects himself. "I'll just have to make sure that's okay with my dad. Wait, I mean he's invited too right? Because I couldn't leave hi-"

"Of course he's invited Kurt," Blaine says quickly. "Actually, my mom was planning on inviting you guys regardless. I just wanted to ask you myself instead of you hearing it from Burt."

"Okay then, sounds fun. Should we bring anything?"

"Pie!" Blaine blurts out immediately. "That pie you made last week was so good. Please make it again, I'll do anything," he pleads.

"Anything?" Kurt breathes, it coming out a bit more seductive than intended.

Blaine's eyes widen and he nods. "Anything."

Kurt shudders as he remembers the make-out session they had the night before. They had gone out for ice cream and afterwards Blaine had parked in front of Kurt's house. Kurt had intended for it to be a short goodnight kiss but it quickly became heated. At one point Blaine tried to climb over into Kurt's lap but that's when he stopped him. Not because he didn't want that, because _god _he wanted that, but he was afraid his dad would be suspicious. They had already been parked for ten minutes and he figured any longer was pushing their luck. Kurt felt like if he didn't get some extended alone time with Blaine soon he was going to explode.

"So," Blaine says, coughing slightly, "you should know my grandma is going to be having dinner with us. She's um… interesting to say the least."

Kurt's brow furrows. "Good interesting or bad interesting?"

"Oh, good interesting definitely! At least most of the time. I love her a lot but she's just very blunt so be prepared for that."

"She accepts you then?" Kurt asks in surprise. In his experience older people are usually more set in their ways and judgmental.

"Yup. When I came out to her we were eating dinner and she said 'that's great now could you pass the salt?' The only thing that changed was now she teases me about having a boyfriend rather than a girlfriend," Blaine says with a genuine smile. "I wish I could tell her about us," he adds wistfully.

_Well then why don't we? _Kurt can't help but let the question cross his mind once again. He understands not being open about it here; Blaine's only been back to public school for a few months and the last time he got put in the hospital for simply being friendly with another gay guy. Plus the jocks are still making their lives hell whenever possible. But not telling they're family or friends is something Kurt just doesn't get. The kids in Glee would keep it a secret if they asked them and of course their parents would too. Kurt's been out and proud for years now and it feels like he's toeing back into the closet. But Kurt doesn't say any of this because he wants to give Blaine a bit more time. The school election is coming up soon anyways and Blaine said they could reconsider after that.

"I can't wait to meet her," Kurt says smiling back.

"So did you ever talk to Mercedes about rejoining the club?"

"No," Kurt sighs, "well actually yes I did, but she refuses to."

Mercedes had recently quit the glee club in favor of creating a new one under Shelby, Vocal Adrenaline's old coach, and has convinced Santana, Brittney, and Sugar to join her. They don't feel like they get enough solos, and they're probably right, but it's causing a riff in his friend group and Kurt hates it.

"But she did say she they would come back and practice with the Glee club again," Kurt adds.

"Well that's a step in the right direction," says Blaine, ever the optimist. "I'm sure they'll come around."

"I hope," Kurt responds with much less surety.

* * *

Kurt fiddles with the wrapping covering the pie trying to stall for a few extra seconds before ringing the Anderson's doorbell. Blaine's grandmother obviously means a lot to him and even if he's not being introduced as the boyfriend, he's still desperate to make a good impression. Even though he doubts his grandmother knows anything about fashion, he spent extra time figuring out what to wear. He decided against one of his more radical outfits, not wanting to freak her out, and goes pretty casual with grey jeans, a long sleeved light blue V-neck, and short black boots. As they wait for the door to open Kurt taps his foot impatiently and Burt side eyes him curiously.

"Everything okay bud?"

"Yeah, fine," Kurt answers in a clipped tone. When Burt chuckles Kurt turns to him, slightly annoyed, and says, "Shouldn't you be nervous? I mean you are meeting your girlfriend's mother."

Burt laughs again and says, "I'm too old to be getting nervous about this kind of stuff."

A second later Sally opens the door and smiles brightly at them. "Hey guys, come on in," she says as she ushers them inside. When Kurt moves into the house his eyes immediately seek out Blaine. He finds him standing off to the side with who can only be his grandma. She's older than Kurt imagined, with curly white hair and slightly hunched shoulders, but there's a glint in her eye that makes her look very alive.

"Mom, this is Burt. Burt, this is my mother Irene," Sally says pointing to him and Burt walks over to shake her hand saying how nice it is to meet her. "And this is Kurt, his son."

Kurt walks over to where the two of them are standing and extends his hand out but before he can says anything she says, "Oh so you're the boy Blaine has the picture of on his bedside table. It's right next to a box of tissues mind you, but I'm sure he just has a cold," she says and begins to cackle.

Blaine's face heats up and he quickly looks to Burt who luckily is paying attention only to Sally. Kurt giggles a little and Blaine glares at him but the effect is somewhat lost by how mortified he still looks.

"Well um… it's very nice to meet you Mrs. Anderson," Kurt says after being unable to come up with a response to her comment.

It's then that Blaine notices the pie in Kurt's hand his eyes light up. "You actually brought apple pie! You're the best!" he says before dashing off to the kitchen with the pie in hand. Kurt turns away from Blaine to look at Irene and is surprised to see she's staring at him. He feels completely self conscious and racks his brain for something to say but he can't come up with anything. When Blaine comes back a moment later Kurt breathes a sigh of relief.

"Why don't we all go into the family room," Sally announces. "Dinner won't be for a while yet but I have wine for the adults and juice for the kids."

Blaine rolls his eyes and says, "Mom, I'm going to be eighteen in three months, I'm hardly a kid."

Sally swoops over and ruffles his hair (although due to the obscene amount of gel in it, it hardly moves) saying that he'll always be her baby. Kurt's heart aches at the loving gesture and he misses his own mom for a moment. Sally's a wonderful lady, and if his dad wanted it he'd love to have her as a stepmom, but it will never be the same. Once they settle themselves in the family room the interrogation begins.

"So Burt, what do you do for a living?" Irene asks.

"I own a car shop, Hummel Tires and Lube," he says his chest puffing out with pride.

"Where do you live?"

"Right down the street."

"Where did you grow up?"

"Madison, Wisconsin. I moved to Ohio right after high school."

Irene perks up at this and says, "I lived in Madison for years!"

As the conversation turns to their experiences in Wisconsin Kurt swivels so he's facing Blaine who is next to him on the couch. "You're grandma seems really sweet," he says.

Blaine laughs and responds, "Well I don't know if _sweet _is the right word but yeah, she's great."

"Where's Maria?" Kurt asks suddenly. He somehow didn't notice she was missing until now.

"Oh she's just throwing here annual Thanksgiving Day tantrum. She hates all Thanksgiving food and every year she has a fit and demands we forgo the traditional food and make something she likes. She'll come around though, she always does."

"A bit of a drama queen I see," Kurt jokes. "I have to admit I was pretty stubborn when I was a kid."

"No!" Blaine exclaims mockingly and brings his hands up to his face. "I don't believe it for a minute."

Kurt shoves Blaine but it only makes him laughs harder. "Very funny," Kurt grumbles but his lips turn up into a smile.

"So Kurt," Irene says out of the blue, "tell me a little about yourself. Blainers has been talking my ear off about you since I got here and I want to know what all the hype is about."

Kurt blushes slightly and catches his dad's eyes which are narrowed and moving back and forth between him and Blaine. He quickly looks away and attempts composure as he addresses Irene. "Well I guess the first thing you should know is that singing is my passion. I'm in the school Glee club with Blaine and it's a lot of fun. I also love shopping and just fashion in general."

"He actually makes some of his own clothes," Blaine interrupts. "He made a kilt which he wore to prom last year and it is gorgeous."

Both Irene and Sally look very impressed at this and Kurt preens a little. "I'd love to see it," Sally says, "I've always wanted someone to talk fashion with and as I'm sure you can tell from the amount of cardigans Blaine wears, he's not an option."

"Seriously," Irene continues, "I'm the one whose 85 here."

That causes them all to laugh and Blaine is left sitting on the couch with crossed arms and an indignant look on his face. An alarm from the kitchen halts to conversation and Sally goes in to turn it off. She comes out a few minutes later and announces the turkey won't be ready for another hour.

"Mom, is it okay if Kurt and I go upstairs to hangout before dinner?" Blaine asks as Sally sits back down.

"Hangout? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Irene asks with a smirk. Burt huffs out a laugh at this and Kurt whips around to stare him down. Burt immediately stops and holds his hands up as if in surrender.

"Sure honey. I'll call you when dinner's ready."

As soon as she says this Blaine practically runs out of the room and up the stairs beckoning Kurt to follow him. When he gets to his room he flops face down on the bed and groans loudly. "I'm pretty sure my grandma's goal in life is to embarrass me as much as possible."

"Well I like that goal _Blainers_," Kurt says smirking.

"Shut up," Blaine grumbles.

"Make me," Kurt quips back.

And Blaine does just that. He sits up and pulls Kurt down so he's on top of him and then crashes their lips together. Kurt gasps in surprise and Blaine takes the opportunity to shove his tongue in Kurt's mouth. He moans loudly as Blaine's tongue meets his but then he's pulling away. His mouth moves from Kurt's onto his jaw and the down to his neck. Blaine is sucking hard causing Kurt to whimper but he has to stop him for fear of leaving a mark on his pale skin. Kurt grabs his head and forces their lips back together pushing him hard into the mattress. He thrusts his tongue in and swirls it around for only a few seconds at a time sufficiently driving Blaine crazy. Suddenly Blaine's hips buck up and Kurt can feel that he's hard. Kurt stops moving his mouth and opens his eyes so he can look at Blaine.

"I-uh too much?" Blaine asks, the lust evident in his voice.

Kurt bites his lip and nods. "A little," he admits.

"Oh wow I am so sorry," Blaine says starting to panic. "You probably don't even- are you even enjoying this?"

"Oh god of course I am," Kurt says and to prove his point he takes Blaine's hand and touches it lightly to his own erection.

"Kurt," Blaine whimpers and even through the layers the small touch makes Kurt's eyes roll back into his head.

"Just not right now. Out parents are downstairs and dinner will be ready any minute."

"But soon?" Blaine asks so hopefully that Kurt would have laughed if he wasn't so turned on.

"Definitely," Kurt says causing Blaine's face to break out into a huge grin.

"Well I'm going to go to the bathroom and uh, cool down."

When Blaine leaves Kurt sits up and starts rearranging his clothes which had become slightly askew. He walks over to the mirror that sits on Blaine's dresser and starts redoing his hair also because his dad already seems suspicious enough without him coming out of Blaine's room with sex hair. As he puts the finishing touches on his hair he remembers what Irene said about Blaine having a picture of him on his bedside table and looks to see if she's right. To Kurt's surprise she wasn't lying and there actually is a picture of him. He's standing in front of Tiffney's; it must have been taken by Rachel when they were in New York for Nationals. Kurt hears a couch behind him and turns to see Blaine looking and his feet and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry about that, I meant to put it away before you got here," Blaine says still not looking at Kurt.

"Where did you get this?"

"Rachel gave it to me a few weeks ago. If you think it's creepy I can put it away…"

"No of course it's not creepy! I mean we are dating, I think it's pretty normal to have a picture right?" Kurt asks stepping towards Blaine and taking his hands in his. Blaine nods vigorously and meets Kurt's eyes with a smile. "I just wish I had a picture of you," Kurt adds.

Blaine's face lights up and he drops Kurt's hands and moves over to dig through one of his desk drawers. "Here. I know it's from last year but I'm pretty sure it's the only one I have." Blaine hands him a picture that was obviously taken at Dalton as it's a professional looking headshot of him in his uniform.

"My, my," Kurt says with a smile, "My boyfriend is quite the gentleman."

Blaine hums and leans up to rub his nose against Kurt's. "I love it when you call me your boyfriend."

"Uhh Blaine?" says a confused voice from the doorway.

Kurt and Blaine both quickly step away from each other and look over to see Maria standing a few feet away.

"Maria! Hey! What's up?" Blaine says in an overly cheery voice.

"Were you two just kissing?!" she asks her eyes widening.

"What? No! We were uh…" Blaine glances over at Kurt but he just gives him a helpless look and shrugs. "There was something on Kurt's face and I was just getting it off of him."

"Okay…" she says very skeptically, "Anyways mom says it's almost time for dinner and she needs help setting the table."

The boys nod and share a relieved look behind her back as they follow her to the kitchen. Sally is busy tossing the salad and checking the temperature of the turkey when they walk in. Blaine shows Kurt where everything and they start bringing it out to the dining room. The inside of the Anderson's home is set up exactly like Kurt's but the decorations are vastly different. Blaine's house is very modern looking with a number of patterned rugs and cool vases and lamps. When Kurt tried to redecorate his own home Burt stopped him straightaway. Burt allows him to do whatever he wants with his room but the rest of the house will stay, as he calls, "normal".

Once all the food has been brought out moves to stand around the table. Kurt sits next to Blaine and across from his dad and Maria with Irene and Sally sitting at the ends. Blaine hooks his ankle around Kurt's and Kurt can't fight the smile at the small touch.

"If I could just say something real quick before we begin," Sally says after they've all sat down, "I want to thank the Hummels for being with us tonight, it's been a joy, and I also want to thank God for this food and for keeping us all safe for another year. Amen."

"Amen," the rest of the Andersons, including Blaine, echoes. Kurt glances over at him curiously but Blaine is already serving up. Kurt knows Blaine doesn't believe in God, or at least the God Sally was referring to. He thinks there is some sort of greater power out there, he's just not sure if they're still, or ever were, concerned with the human race. The Andersons use to go to church every Sunday but they stopped a couple years ago. Even before Blaine realized he was gay he knew he wasn't a believer in the Christian God. His main problem with the teaching are he thinks it's ridiculous that one set of rules, created thousands of years ago, apply to everybody. Then, once he figured out his sexuality, some of those sermons became a bit more personal. After he came out, his parents stopped making him go to church and eventually (Kurt's not exactly sure when) they stopped going too. But Sally still believes and although she's made it clear how she feels about some of the teaching, she goes to church on most of the major religious holidays.

Figuring that Blaine did it out of politeness or habit Kurt shrugs it off and begins to serve himself some food. The dinner is classic Thanksgiving in every way; turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet rolls, and cranberry sauce. And best of all, it's all homemade. Since they're only been the two of them in the past, Kurt never bothered cooking an actual turkey. Turkey cold cuts from the store worked just fine and gave them a much more reasonable amount of food. And once you're eating turkey cold cuts there's really no point in making homemade everything else. Kurt likes to bake but he's no miracle worker in the kitchen.

"Sally, I can honestly say this is the best Thanksgiving food I've ever had," Burt says after a few minutes of nothing but the sound of chewing and scraping forks.

"Thanks," Sally says practically beaming.

Kurt nudges Blaine to make a comment about how sickly sweet their parents are but Blaine is already watching them and the look on his face is of over joy. Shaking his head Kurt muses on how he ended up with someone who's a bigger sap than he is. The rest of dinner passes with bouts of conversation in between tons of eating. It was all going great until one extremely tense and awkward moment. Kurt didn't hear it properly but Irene had made a joke, probably at someone else's expense, and Burt had laughed loudly.

"See, that's what I like about you. Jonathon never got my sense of humor," Irene said.

_Jonathon. _The name had wrung a bell but Kurt couldn't place it at the time. At the mention of the name Blaine had dropped his fork on the floor and the loud clattering sound made everybody look at him. His eyes hardened and Kurt had never seen him look so closed off. Blaine usually wore his heart on his sleeve but in that moment Kurt had absolutely no idea what he was thinking.

"Mom…" Sally warned.

"What? The man up and leaves his family and we pretend-"

"Mom! That's enough." Sally had interrupted angrily and it was the first time Kurt had ever heard her raise her voice.

Kurt really wanted to ask who Jonathon was because he felt like he was way out of the loop but then Irene's last words hit him. _Leaves his family…_ then he remembered, Jonathon was Blaine's father. He had looked over at Blaine to see that he was a shade paler than usual and was gripping his thigh under the table.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Blaine mumbled and walked away from the table averting everyone's eyes. Kurt wanted to follow him, to comfort him, because the pained look on his face hurt Kurt more than he could have imagined. He didn't though because he can tell when people need a little time alone.

Sally had given Irene a pointed glare after Blaine left and although she had shrugged in response, Kurt could see a little guilt in her eyes. Blaine came back a few minutes after that but the rest of the meal seemed very forced.

The sounds of eating eventually slow and once it seems like everyone is done Sally gets up.

Burt stands up too and says, "Sally, after we help you get this all cleaned up I think we're going to get out of your hair. The Buckeyes game is on soon and I don't want to miss is."

"Nonsense, you can watch it here. Blaine's a huge football fan and I'm sure he'd watch it with you," Sally responds.

Burt turns to Blaine in surprise and Blaine looks up with an actual smile on his face which causes Kurt's shoulders sag with relief.

"Why don't you go ahead into the family room and watch it now?" she adds.

Burt starts to protest saying he wants to help clean but Sally shoots the back of Blaine's head a worried look and Burt seems to get it.

"Come on bud," he says patting Blaine on the back, "pregame has been on for hours."

Sally tells Kurt he can go in and watch too, Maria refused to help after being told Blaine didn't have to, but he insists. If there was one thing his mother instilled in him even at that young age it was how to be a polite guest.

The three of them work, cleaning and clearing dishes, in relative silence until Irene comments, "So you and Blaine seem pretty close."

Kurt nods. "Yes, we haven't known each other for very long but we just seem to have a… connection."

"You play for his team?" Irene asks and Sally makes a noise of disapproval at her bluntness.

Kurt merely chuckles though and responds, "Yes."

"Well I'm glad. I think its good Blaine has someone like you to talk about stuff with. I know being gay in Ohio isn't the easiest thing."

"Thank you," Kurt says quietly although he's not really sure what he's thanking her for. Maybe simply for understanding.

They finish the rest of the dishes not too much later and go into the next room to join the others. It's only been on for a couple minutes but Blaine is already passed out on the couch. His head is resting on one arm of the couch while his feet are curled up under him. Kurt has the overwhelming urge to snuggle up with him but he knows he can't. For a long time, before Kurt really thought about the sex part of a relationship, his fantasies were always of that. Cuddling, having someone hold him and keep him warm and cozy, that's what he wanted more than anything. And he still wants it now. He fights the desire however and goes to sit on the other end of the couch making sure to leave a respectable amount of distance between the two of them.

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**Just to remind you all... reviews are lovely 3**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello readers, so since I'm an IDIOT I just figured out you can reply to reviews so I went back and replied to all of you today! Just a heads up I'll total reply to any reviews I get from now on.**

**So I don't know if I mentioned this but I don't own Glee... because if I did this is how the episode I Kissed a Girl would have gone. Also there would be a ton more Klaine. Enjoy!**

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After Blaine's violent reaction to the mere mention of his father at Thanksgiving, Kurt is desperate to know more. He's afraid of upsetting Blaine though, so he goes to the only other person he can ask.

"Hey dad, can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing," Burt responds, muting the TV.

Kurt thinks for a moment, trying to find a good way to word the question. "Do you know anything about Sally's ex-husband?"

Burt looks completely shocked at the questions but says, "I know enough. Why?"

"I was just wondering because Blaine seemed to react pretty strongly last night…" Kurt trails off. He hadn't really wanted to bring Blaine into the conversation, but it seems impossible not to.

Realization dawns on Burt's face, and he hums. "He hasn't told you about him?" When Kurt shakes his head, Burt looks away, scratching his head. "Well then I'm not really sure it would be fair of me to say anything."

"But dad-" Kurt starts to protest.

"Sorry kid. He'll tell you when he's ready." Burt sighs and then, almost to himself, he says, "Poor kid. God knows nobody deserves something like that."

Kurt's hands begin to sweat and he starts to feel a little dizzy. _What did Blaine's father do? _He has to call Blaine right away and figure this out. Kurt quickly leaves the table, ignoring his dad's shouts, and takes out his phone, preparing to dial Blaine's number. His thumb is hovering over the button when he tells himself to calm down because he needs to think this through a bit more before he calls. Blaine's father is obviously a sore subject with him, and he doesn't want to scare him away. Burt's right, he'll tell him in his own time. Kurt just hopes he can nudge him along. He takes a deep breath, dials Blaine's number, and waits for him to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hi Blaine, it's Kurt."

"Oh, hey Kurt!" Blaine says, his tone picking up.

"I was just wondering… what happened at dinner the other night?" he asks, hoping that Blaine will understand what he means.

Blaine pauses for a moment before saying, "Oh that? I just wasn't feeling too well. Probably ate too much too fast," and then forces a chuckle.

"Blaine…" Kurt warns him. They had a talk about lying and how they would never do it with each other. Kurt knows it's an almost impossible goal but Blaine is so blatantly lying here, and this is something important.

"I-I'm just not use to my father being brought into a conversation, especially not at someplace like the family dinner table. It took me by surprise, that's all," he says in a very hesitant voice, as if he's choosing each word very carefully. It may be the truth but it's definitely not the whole truth.

"I feel like there's something you're not telling me," Kurt says, as he tries to keep the hurt out of his voice. This is about helping Blaine after all, not Kurt's trust issues.

"My dad and I didn't have the relationship that you and Burt have. Sometimes... I guess it just hurts to remember that, so I try not to think about it. Not the healthiest thing, I know, but it works for me."

Kurt's heart breaks a little at Blaine's confession. He could have guessed that Blaine didn't have a great relationship with his dad but to know that it affects him in this way is just so painful. "I'm sorry Blaine. I wish there was something I could do." Kurt wants to be there just to hold Blaine, because at least for him, that's sometimes the best kind of help.

Blaine doesn't answer, and Kurt can practically feel him shrugging through the phone. "Anyways," he starts, changing the subject, "I have to babysit tonight, you want to come along?"

Kurt let's the issue drop for now and says, "We'll see, I have some French homework I need to finish up. I'll text you later?"

"Sounds good, bye Kurt."

"Bye."

Kurt hangs up the phone and goes downstairs to get his backpack. When he passes his dad, Burt raises an eyebrow at him. "That was a pretty quick escape you just made there," he says.

"I just had to call someone. By the way, I may go over to help Blaine babysit tonight."

"Again?" Burt exclaims, "He better be paying you for all the times you're helping him."

Kurt rolls his eyes at his dad and continues into the front hallway. Blaine, ever the gentleman, always offers Kurt half the money, but Kurt refuses. He hardly even talks to the kids, so getting paid for just keeping him company is ridiculous. Of course, this only spurs Blaine's desires to pay for coffee whenever they go out. After getting his bag out of the front closet, Kurt heads upstairs to start the grueling task of his irregular verbs packet. Kurt usually isn't a procrastinator, although he's starting to become one thanks to Blaine. The thought of turning down an opportunity to be with him in favor of doing school work is something that has caused a lot of homework to be pushed to Sunday nights. He's about half way done when he decides to rest for just a moment, but the next thing he knows, he's jerking awake in a dark room. He checks the clock and realizes it's just after ten o'clock. He thinks of a string of curse words, none of which he would have the guts to say out loud, and pulls out his phone.

_Hey! Sorry I didn't text you earlier, I fell asleep. Not only did I wrinkle my clothes (I was wearing that blue button up polo you love so much) but I also still have homework to finish so I can't come over. Coffee tomorrow? I have a feeling I'm going to need a pick-me-up… Anyways, goodnight sleep tight, I'll see you tomorrow 3 _

After Kurt shoots off the text, he gets to work on finishing the packet. When he's done, about an hour later, he's surprised at Blaine's lack of response. He leaves his phone in his room and goes to the bathroom to get ready for bed, expecting a text by the time he gets back. When he does and there is none, he starts to worry a bit. He quickly shoos the thoughts away, though, and tells himself to stop being such a worry wart. His phone probably just died or something like that.

* * *

When's he getting ready for school the next morning he realizes he still hasn't received anything from Blaine so he doesn't know whether to pick him up early to go to the Lima Bean. He eventually decides not to, because he figures Blaine had a late night last night babysitting and wants to let him sleep. When he pulls up in front of the house, Blaine doesn't coming bounding out as he usually does. Kurt's brows furrow, and he stares at the door, tapping his fingers against the wheel impatiently. Finally, when it comes time that if they don't leave now, they're going to be late, he gets out of the car and walks up to the house. He rings the doorbell and Sally, still in her robe and slippers, answers the door.

"Kurt…" she says, cocking her head to the side, "Oh! Kurt! I am so sorry!" she exclaims her eyes widening. "I promised Blaine I would call you and tell you not to come, I'm so sorry I forgot. Blaine's sick today and isn't going to school."

"Is he okay?" Kurt asks in concern. Blaine hates missing school, really hates it, so if he's staying home it must be bad.

"He was throwing up all night," Sally says sadly and Kurt notices that she looks more tired than usual. Kurt remembers the time that he got the stomach flu in first grade and how, even after he stopped throwing up and went to sleep, his mom stayed in his room in case she was needed. Apparently some things don't change.

"Tell him that I hope he feels better," Kurt says, before making his way back to the car. The drive to school is eerily quiet, and he realizes that he can hardly remember a time before Blaine rode to school with him.

It isn't until about fourth period that Kurt comprehends just how much of his day revolves around Blaine. Talking between periods, spending study hall together, even texting him during class occasionally. Then of course, there's physics which, without Blaine, happens to be Kurt's least favorite class. It scares Kurt a little to think just how much of his life revolves around Blaine now. He's always been independent, and that was fine. It was safe. This was scarier, knowing that his happiness relied on someone else, and could be taken away through no fault of his own. But its better this way, he decides. He thought he was happy before but honestly, knowing this happiness now, he wasn't. He was existing, not living. So maybe one day Blaine will leave and he'll be heartbroken and wish that he'd never met him. But after the dust settles and he really thinks about it, he knows he won't regret this time. He guesses it's true what they say, it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

As soon as Kurt enters the choir room he can feel the tension in the air. Santana is the only one not present (besides Blaine), and it's no surprise. Over the weekend, a competitor of Sue's, whose running against her in the congressional election, aired a commercial that outed Santana and questioned Sue's own sexuality. How that guy even knew Santana was gay is a mystery to Kurt, although he has heard rumors that it was Finn. If that's true then Kurt will be completely shocked. Finn and he have never been real close, but last year when he was having trouble with Karofsky, he did eventually come to his defense. It took him long enough, but in the end, he made it clear whose side he was on. Then over the summer, since he was dating Rachel, Kurt actually saw him quite a bit. He was clueless and downright idiotic at times, but he was never cruel. And outing someone is one of the cruelest things in Kurt's opinion.

Once everyone settles down Finn gets up to address the room. "Um hey guys, I don't know if you've all heard but some guy made a commercial saying Santana was a lesbian." By the lack of shocked expressions on people's faces, Kurt guesses the rumor mill had done its job. "So I though this week we could all sing songs to Santana to let her know how much we all support her."

"Oh wow Finn, that is so sweet of you," Quinn says sarcastically and Kurt turns to look at her in surprise. Finn's ideas weren't usually great, but this one actually wasn't bad. Santana needs all the support she can get right now, and even though Kurt's sure she won't be outwardly thankful about the songs, it could help. "Would you care to tell everyone _how _that asshole knew Santana was gay in the first place?" Quinn continues.

Finn, who is still standing in front of the room, begins to look really uncomfortable and starts tugging at his collar. "Um I might have, uh, accidentally said something about it in the hallway last week," he admits.

"Said something?" Quinn asks incredulously, "I heard you shouting about it from across the school."

Murmurs ripple through the choir room and Kurt can tell he wasn't the only one who didn't know this. He hadn't wanted to believe it. The fact that he would out someone, a friend at that, in a public place is just despicable. Kurt tried to imagine what it would be like to have the ability to come out on his own terms taken away and shudders. He can't even bare to look at Finn, so instead he turns to Rachel. Rachel looks very uncomfortable but not surprised, so Kurt guesses she already knew. Suddenly the air in the choir room is suffocating and Kurt has to leave. This whole situation is bringing up a few too many memories.

"Kurt! Where are you going?" Rachel calls but Kurt ignores her and keeps walking. He doesn't know where he's going until he's there; the first floor girl's bathroom.

Since it's after school, Kurt expects it to be empty and it is. He walks to the sink and splashes some water on his face, trying to calm down. Kurt can't figure out why this is affecting him so badly. Maybe it's because, although nobody had outed him in so many words, people have been calling him gay for as long as he can remember. Even in elementary school, before he even knew what the word 'fag' meant, kids called him it. Then when he came out, his father said he had already known. Sure, it was comforting in some sense, especially since his father was completely accepting, but it was also a bit scary. Apparently Burt had known he was gay before even he did. Even though it shouldn't be, in today's society "coming out" is a big deal. It's terrifying because unfortunately it changes to way a lot of people look at you, and that's why it has to be the person who's coming out decision alone.

Kurt stays a few more minutes before exiting the bathroom. He plans to go back to Glee, but on the way he sees Santana standing at her locker. He hesitates before walking closer, trying to gauge her mood. "Santana…" he says cautiously as he approaches.

She spins around quickly, eyes fierce, but when she sees Kurt her shoulders slump. "Oh it's you," she says in an uncharacteristically defeated voice.

"Don't sound too excited," Kurt says trying, unsuccessfully, to lighten the mood.

"Look, if you're here to spew some it-gets-better crap then save it. I know it gets better… because there's no way in hell it can be worse than it is now."

"Santana-" Kurt starts but she cuts him off.

"No, just stop. You think you can understand this because you're gay but you can't. You weren't outed to thousands of people all at once without even knowing about it. Your dad didn't find out you were gay via a TV commercial. And either way, he's fine with you taking it up the ass so what does it matter anyways? If you think we're going to be best buddies now and spend our time running around waving rainbow flags or whatever else it is you do with that boy toy of yours, then you're wrong."

"Santana," Kurt begins, then pauses, waiting to see if she's going to interrupt him. When she doesn't he continues, "I'm not here to say any of that. All I wanted to tell you was that we're here for you, we all are. Yes our situations weren't the same, but I did have trouble with being gay in this school. In fact, I still do. All I'm saying is don't shut the people that care about you out, because that only hurts yourself."

When Kurt finishes, Santana is staring out him and for a second he's afraid she's going to slap him. But instead she turns away, slams her locker shut, and walks away.

"Thanks for the pep talk, but Santana Lopez doesn't need anyone, especially those losers in Glee," Santana calls over her shoulder.

"We dedicated this week's assignment to you. We're all singing songs to show you our support."

Santana turns back around and has such a disgusted look on her face that Kurt would have laughed under any other circumstance.

"Like I said, we're all here for you. You're not getting rid of us that easily. Oh and Santana," Kurt calls when she's half way down the hallway, "Blaine and I don't wave around rainbow flags… we make dresses out of them and then model them for each other."

Santana spins on her heel and saunters out the front door but not before Kurt catches a glimpse of a smile. She'll come around, Kurt's sure of it.

* * *

The next day, Blaine misses school again so afterwards, Kurt goes to his house to visit him. He's a little nervous because Blaine doesn't answer his text asking if he could come so he is just showing up. He's not sure if this is something normal couples do, but he does knows that if he was sick he would want Blaine to be there.  
He's about to knock on the door when Sally bursts out of it, head down, digging through her bag.

"Oh!" she exclaims after almost knocking Kurt over. "Sorry hon, I didn't see you there."

"No harm done," Kurt says, bending over to pick up a fallen tube of lipstick and handing it back to Sally. "I'm just here to... um, give Blaine some homework and keep him company. Is that okay?"

"Of course, of course! I'm sure Blaine will love to see someone besides me," she laughs. "I have to go pick up Maria and stop by the grocery store so I'll be back in a little bit. Stay as long as you want," she calls and then hurries past Kurt and jumps in her car.

Kurt watches her go and then stands on the front porch, debating whether or not the ring the doorbell. He eventually decides against it, not wanting to make Blaine get up and answer it. The door is open so he walks in, hangs his coat in the closet by the door, and walks up the stairs in the direction of Blaine's room. Blaine's door is slightly ajar, but he still knocks before sticking his head inside.

"Blaine?" he calls softly after spotting him in the bed. He's not facing the door so Kurt's unsure if he's even awake. But at the sound of his name, he quickly rolls over and squints in his direction.

"Kurt? Is that you?" he asks, his voice scratchy.

"Yes, it's me. I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited…" Blaine laughs at the corny joke, so he must not be feeling too bad.

Kurt walks over and sits gingerly on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Blaine responds with a small smile. "You should have seen me yesterday… actually I'm glad you didn't." he adds, chuckling.

"Well I'm glad you're recovering. I've missed you."

"Thanks for coming Kurt," Blaine says, removing his hand from under the covers and grabbing onto Kurt's. "You being here makes things so much better."

Kurt leans down to place a kiss on Blaine's forehead before removing the covers and climbing under so he can snuggle up with Blaine.

"Kurt," he protests weakly, "You're going to get sick."

"You already held my hand which is the number one way germs spread," Kurt teases, but when he sees the guilty look on Blaine's face, he stops. "No, Blaine, stop. I don't care about getting sick. Besides, if I did, you would take care of me wouldn't you?"

Blaine hums in approval and shifts so his head is resting on Kurt's chest, and his arm is wrapped around his waist. Despite the fact that Kurt's still in his clothes and Blaine is breathing his germy breath all over him, Kurt has never felt more comfortable in his life. Blaine falls asleep immediately, and it takes Kurt a while but eventually he starts to nod off too. Suddenly, Kurt jolts awake at the sound of the front door opening. A muddled conversation, between Sally and Maria he guesses, drifts up the stairs, and Kurt quickly shoves Blaine off him and extracts himself from the bed. Blaine whines at the loss of heat, but Kurt ignores him as he straightens out his clothes and goes back to sitting on the edge of the bed as he was when he first arrived.

Sally walks in a moment later and asks, "How's he doing?"

"I'm feeling good," Blaine says, surprising both Kurt and Sally. They turn to see him sitting up and rubbing his eyes before getting out of bed.

"Really? That's great honey! Kurt, you must be some miracle worker," Sally says, flashing him a thankful smile.

"Oh he is," Blaine says, and Kurt wishes so badly he could lean over and kiss him right now.

"How about you come down and eat something? You must be starving." Sally says to Blaine.

Blaine agrees and after Kurt accepts the invitation to stay for dinner, they all make their way downstairs. Sally pulls out a rotisserie chicken she got from the store and some homemade macaroni salad. Blaine is looking hungrily at all the food, but Sally brings him a plate with some toast and a few pieces of cheese.

"You need to take it slow Blaine, you've hardly eaten in days," she says when Blaine tries to protest.

The mealtime conversation is mostly dominated by Maria and her complaints about how hard the fifth grade is. Apparently her teacher is a mean old witch who gives lots of homework and loves to cancel recess. Sally scolds her when she starts commenting on how she shouldn't cancel recess because she obviously needs the exercise but Kurt and Blaine have to stifle their laughter.

"Blaine," Sally says in desperate need of a subject change, "have you been working on your Berkley application?"

Kurt stops chewing and a feeling of dread fills his body. He had known Blaine was exploring his options in California, but he didn't know he was actually going to apply to a school there.

"Um yes," Blaine says, glancing at Kurt and then quickly looking away. "It's almost done. Along with my NYU application," he adds, emphasizing the 'NYU' part.

"Good," Sally says. The rest of dinner is light on the conversation and after Blaine yawns for a third time, Sally says, "Alright mister, it's time for you to get back to bed."

"Mom-" he starts to object, but Kurt cuts him off.

"No, she's right, you need to get your strength back. Sally," he says directing his attention to her now, "is it okay if I just go show him this one thing on her physics homework real quick?"

Blaine looks at him curiously, knowing that there was no physics homework, but doesn't say anything when Sally agrees. They walk back to Blaine's room.

"So Berkley…" Kurt says after he closes to door.

"Oh right," Blaine says guiltily. "Look Kurt, it's just a backup. You know, in case NYU doesn't work out."

"I'm not mad," Kurt assures him, "I just wish you would have told me. I mean, if Berkley is your dream school and you want to go there, then we'll figure it out."

"But it's not," Blaine says stepping close to Kurt. "My dream school is NYU, and I want to be in New York, with _you_." Kurt smiles, feeling relieved, and leans in for a kiss, but Blaine backs away. "Nope, sorry Kurt, but that is basically asking to get sick." Kurt pouts but Blaine won't give in.

"Fine," he sighs and starts collecting his things. He sneaks a kiss on Blaine's cheek as he walks him to the door, and Blaine promises to text him in the morning telling him if he's ready to go back to school.

With that, he leaves, and when he checks his phone he sees he has multiple missed calls from Rachel. They'd already talked about the Santana situation, she had known and although she was mad at him, he apparently hadn't meant to so she forgave him. Kurt's not really sure how you can _accidentally_ do something like that but he's deciding to stay out of that portion of it and focus on helping Santana. She came back to Glee today, but it was only to make scathing remarks towards anyone who brought up the commercial or anything related to it. So with that already being settled, Kurt doesn't know what the big emergency is.

"Hello Kurt? We have a problem," she says after only one ring.

"And that is…?"

"Brittney is running for class president."


	10. Chapter 10

**Nothing to say here except that I hope you like this chapter :)**

* * *

The only coherent thought in Kurt's mind is Blaine. He's the only one he wants to see right now. Running through the hallway, tears blurring his vision, Kurt searches for him. As he runs by Rachel, she tries to say something, but he ignores her and keeps going. Finally, he remembers Blaine saying he would be outside in the courtyard because he was too nervous to wait for the results. Sure enough, he finds him there sitting with Mike and Tina. Blaine raises his hand in greeting but after seeing Kurt's expression, he jumps up and runs over to him.

"Shh, it's going to be okay," he soothes after Kurt launches himself into his arms. Blaine rubs his back and murmurs comforting words into his ear until the sobs turn to sniffles. After Kurt composes himself, he notices that Blaine is looking over his shoulder to check if anyone else is near them. Kurt looks around too, but the only people present are Tina and Mike, who are still sitting at the table and avoiding their eyes politely.

Blaine puts a hand on Kurt's lower back and steers him over to an empty bench a little ways away. "What happened?"

"I lost the election," Kurt says but then has to stop because the tears threaten to flow again.

"Oh Kurt, I'm sorry," Blaine says while scooching a little closer to him. "But it's like you said, this school doesn't want a real leader, they want a hot cheerleader who gives them pixie sticks. Your speech about bullying was inspiring and in any election with half competent voters, you would have blown the competition out of the water."

Kurt smiles wanly at his praise but says, "It's not just that, though. Somebody stuffed the ballot box with votes for me and the school thinks I did it. They're threatening to suspend or even expel me! I can kiss my dreams of NYADA and New York goodbye if that happens, I'm going to be stuck in Lima forever." This time Kurt can't hold back the tears and they silently run down his face.

Blaine reaches into his bag to pull out a handkerchief and Kurt actually laughs through his tears. He's pretty sure Blaine is the only seventeen year old boy he knows who carries around handkerchiefs wherever he goes. Kurt accepts in gratefully, though, and wipes his eyes. He's aware that he's red faced and puffy eyed and that with anyone else he'd be mortified, but with Blaine it's alright. One would think that you would want to look your best around the person whose most special to you but in reality, it's the person whose most special to you that you feel comfortable looking your worst around.

"You told them it wasn't you, right?" Blaine asks, a confused expression on his face.

"Yes, of course."

"Then that's the end of that," Blaine states matter-of-factly.

"It's not that simple Blaine," Kurt retorts, trying not to get annoyed, "somebody had to have stuffed the box and right now, I'm the number one suspect. It's my word against the facts. Or, what they assume are the facts."

"Well that's not fair."

"Life isn't fair! This isn't Dalton where everything is rainbows and puppies and nobody has to face any consequences. This is the real world." Blaine recoils at Kurt's harsh words, and he immediately regrets them. "Wait, Blaine, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be taking my anger out on you. This has just been a really tough couple weeks."

In fact, Kurt can't remember a tougher two weeks in a long time. Not only is the Glee club completely stressed about the upcoming sectionals, the Troubletones (Mercedes new glee club) still plan on competing against them, but the class election brought a ton of unprecedented drama. Brittney, who had originally been helping Kurt with his campaign, decided to run on her own after Kurt rejected her campaign slogan. Even with Rachel dropping out of the competition to help Kurt, he didn't stand chance against Brittney and Santana's combined popularity. His only hope had been that his speech would somehow inspire the students of McKinley to make the smart choice but obviously, he thought too highly of them. Now these accusations of him cheating, which threaten his entire future, are just the icing on the cake.

"It's fine," Blaine says, reaching out to rub Kurt's back again. After a minute he stands up and extends his hand. "Let's go choir room, it's almost time for Glee."

They walk through the halls with a respectable distance between them; Blaine had dropped his hand before they even entered the school despite it being almost empty now. Blaine's continued insistence that they keep their relationship under wraps hurts Kurt more than he's willing to admit. It's been over a month, and Kurt thought they'd be done hiding by now. Azimio still gives them a hard time occasionally, but it's been much less lately. Apparently, they got bored after Kurt and Blaine continued to ignore them. Kurt had hoped that once that became a less pressing issue, Blaine would open up to the idea of going public. But every time Kurt brings it up, Blaine steers the conversation in a different direction.

After entering the choir room, Mercedes gets up and hurries over to Kurt, drawing him into a tight hug and assuring him that she voted for him. Kurt sees Brittney and Santana sitting in one corner, looking absolutely ecstatic, and knows what he has to do.

"Congratulations Brittney, I'm sure you'll rule with absolute fabulousness," he says, forcing a smile.

"Thanks Kurt!" Brittney responds with such a dazzling smile that Kurt's becomes a little less strained. "Oh wait, Kurt," she calls as he starts to walk away, "would you like to be my vice president? I asked Santana, but she said she was too busy being head cheerleader so she told me to ask you."

Kurt looks in shock at Santana, and she avoids his gaze in favor of glaring at Brittney. "Oops, I wasn't supposed to tell you it was Santana's idea," she says, only after noticing the anger look being directed at her.

"Thank you Brittney," Kurt says, ignoring that last part out of respect for Santana, "I would love to."

Before Kurt leaves, he looks at Santana again and this time she is looking back. He flashes the most sincere smile he can muster and to his surprise, he gets a small smile in return. Kurt goes to join Blaine who is in deep conversation with Mike and when he sits down Blaine nudges his foot slightly in acknowledgement. Tina, who was sitting on the other side of Mike, gets up and moves to the seat next to Kurt.

"How are you holding up?" Tina asks in concern.

"I'm pretty shaken up," Kurt answers honestly.

Tina looks around and lowers her voice before saying, "You and Blaine seemed pretty cozy out there earlier."

Kurt fights off a blush and responds, "We're just really close friends. We spend a lot of time together since our parents are dating."

"Mhmm," Tina hums in disbelief but Kurt knows she'll drop the subject now. That's what he loves about her, she knows not to push.

"But…" Kurt hesitates, "Maybe it would be best if you didn't tell people just how close me and Blaine have gotten."

Tina's face softens, and she assures him she won't say anything. "Hey, where's Rachel?" Kurt asks after a beat.

"I don't know, I haven't seen her since the vote."

No sooner did Tina finish talking than Rachel entered the room looking completely distraught. She clears her throat loudly until everyone looks at her. On the verge of tears, she announces, "Attention fellow Glee club members, unfortunately, due to my suspension, I will not be able to compete in Sectionals on Friday."

Silence follows her statement as everyone processes what she said. Once it does hit, pandemonium ensues. The most pressing question, of course, is why she's suspended in the first place.

"I-" she starts, choking back tears, "stuffed the ballot box with Kurt's name." She ducks her head ashamedly and multiple people gasp, including Kurt. He's relieved that he's off the hook for the crime, but he can't help but feel bad for her. As misguided as it was, she was only trying to help him. Competing is everything to Rachel and having to sit out for Sectionals is going to kill her.

She opens her mouth as if to say something else, but she closes it and sits back down. Kurt almost gasps again because he's pretty sure that's the first time Rachel Berry as even been at a loss for words. Mr. Schue takes over then and says they will be working on their songs for sectionals, so Mercedes and the rest of the Troubletones leave. After they do, the rest of the Glee club lets the true panic sink in at the fact that their strongest singer won't be competing.

Kurt's too tired to really participate in the debate, so Blaine and him sit back and let everything unfold. Finally, after a lot of yelling and arguing, ironically the loudest person being Rachel, they have a new game plan. ABC is still in but Tina has replaced Rachel as the lead. Kurt's happy for her, considering she gets solos even less than he does. Control is basically the same because Rachel only had a background role in that, but the main change is now Rachel can't do her solo. The replacement was Man in the Mirror which featured Puck, Sam, Finn, Artie, and Blaine.

Blaine looks over at Kurt once it's announced, and they have a silent conversation. Blaine's apologetic and slightly uncomfortable eyes say he's sorry that he has another solo in this song when he's already a lead in Control. Kurt just shrugs and gives him a what-can-you-do look because honestly, what could he do? Yes he could complain and demand a solo, but they would have to rearrange everything and that would hurt the Glee club's chances against the Troubletones. Plus, Tina and Mike get fewer chances to sing than he does, and he doesn't want to mess this up for them.

Mr. Schue calls it a day after that, saying that they will have to have extra long practices if they want to be ready for the competition which, unfortunately, is only three days away.

"What are your plans for your birthday?" Blaine asks as they walk out.

Kurt blanches for a moment because with all the drama going on, he'd almost forgotten it's coming up so soon. It's only a week and a half away. "Uh the usual I guess. My dad always takes off work so we can spend the afternoon and evening together."

Blaine nods and asks, "Well what about the day after? Saturday? What are your plans?"

"Nothing so far."

"Great! That's our day, we can do whatever you want," Blaine says, beaming.

"Shopping?" Kurt asks hopefully. His dad stopped knowing what to get for him about ten years ago so now he usually just gets Kurt money. The annual shopping trip is usually with Rachel and Mercedes, but he's sure they won't mind skipping out this one year.

"Shopping it is!" Blaine exclaims, and Kurt laughs because Blaine has no idea what he's getting himself into.

* * *

"_Blaine, please," Kurt begs as Blaine slowly kisses down his body. He bucks his hips up, trying to relay the message of where he wants Blaine because he doesn't have the words to articulate it._

"_Patience," Blaine chuckles, but it turns into a groan when Kurt grabs him by the hair and moves his head towards his erection. Kurt doesn't force Blaine on him, he would never do that, but he needs some relief now._

"_Ugh, Blaine yes, more," Kurt whines as Blaine teasingly sucks the head into his mouth. Blaine pulls off a second later, and Kurt feels like screaming in protest but suddenly, Blaine's mouth is back on him and he's bobbing up and down his shaft. He moves back up to the head, swirling his tongue around it a few times, before taking in Kurt's whole length in one move._

_Kurt moans loudly and tries to thrust up but Blaine's hands are pinning him to the bed. Kurt sees stars when his cock hits the back of Blaine's throat and, with the tightening in his balls, he knows he won't last much longer. He grasps Blaine by the hair again and attempts to tug him off, but Blaine resists him. He hums long and low, and Kurt cries out, ready to explode-_

Kurt jolts awake, panting hard, and before he realizes what he's doing, he's stroking himself to thoughts of Blaine's mouth and coming in record time. When he calms down enough to think coherently, shame rushes through him. He just came in his pants to the image of Blaine sucking him off. Simply saying the words in his head make his dick twitch, as if it's trying to get hard again. _I guess this is what being horny is like, _Kurt thinks.

Before he started dating Blaine, he honestly didn't think about sex that often. Yes, he woke up hard sometimes, and masturbated too, but it was never this intense. Kurt masturbates way more often now and despite his best efforts, his thoughts often travel to Blaine when he does. Who would have thought getting a boyfriend would make him more sexually frustrated.

Kurt goes to the bathroom and cleans up before crawling back into bed to try and get some sleep. Sectionals are tonight so he needs to be rested and ready for what is surely going to be a tough competition.

Sectionals went well, they won, but better than anything else was afterwards, everyone made up. The Troubletones agreed to join back up as long as they got one song at each competition and then they all did an improv performance of We Are Young. This is what Kurt loves and misses about Glee club. Back during sophomore year, they did stuff like this all the time, singing for fun, and sharing the solos instead of fighting over them. Lately, it seems like there is always some kind of drama going on that takes away from the pure fun Glee club use to be.

The next week flies by and before Kurt knows it, it's his birthday. Blaine gives him the cutest homemade card and Kurt almost tears up right in the middle of the hallway. Other than that, the day was pretty normal, besides the showy version of happy birthday sung to him during Glee which Rachel organized.

As per tradition, Burt takes the afternoon off so he's there when Kurt gets home from school. This year, they decide their bonding activity will be cooking dinner together.

"So you're telling me I just got to pour these onions into the bowl?" Burt asks, rereading the recipe for what Kurt thinks is the thousandth time.

"No no no," Kurt says, shaking his head, "You have to sauté them first."

"Sauté?"

Kurt pursues his lips and says, "Never mind, I'll do it. You just come over here and dip the chicken first in the egg mixture, and then in the breadcrumb mixture."

They work in silence for the next few minutes until Kurt hears Burt curse loudly. He looks over and sees one of the chicken cutlets on the floor. Kurt stares for a minute before starting to laugh and once he starts, he can't seem to stop.

Burt swears again and asks angrily, "What could possibly be funny about this?"

"I'm just wondering how we didn't starve when I was a child and couldn't cook yet," Kurt says once he's calmed down.

"We got a lot of take-out," Burt responds, cracking a smile.

Kurt pretty much takes over the meal after that, having Burt only help when it's absolutely necessary. Even if Burt's not helping in the cooking aspect, it's still nice to have some time together. As they sit down, Kurt realizes that this is the first Friday night dinner they've had in a while. Friday night is usually Burt and Sally's date night, so it turned into Kurt and Blaine's date night too. He's not complaining, he's ecstatic that Sally makes Burt so happy, but he does miss spending time with his dad. It's been just the two of them for so long that it's quite an adjustment having someone else important in Burt's life.

"You're quiet tonight," Burt comments in between bites of chicken.

"Just thinking."

"So kiddo, how's your life been? I feel bad I haven't been around as often," Burt says as if he read Kurt's mind.

"Don't feel bad dad, I'm happy for you. And not too much, I've been working on a proposal for new anti-bullying measures that would raise the consequences for any bullying done on school grounds. I don't know if Figgins will actually go for it but… it's a start."

"That's great Kurt," Burt says seriously, "I'm so proud of you."

Even though Burt saying he's proud of Kurt is nothing new, it still makes him glow. Kurt's sure there's no better feeling than working hard on something and having someone else, especially someone you care about, recognize and appreciate it. They spend the rest of the evening catching up on all the little things that have been happening recently, and Kurt tries to get the details out of Burt about his relationship with Sally.

"Is there going to be any ice at Christmas?" Kurt asks after Burt continues to dodge his questions.

Burt, who was in mid-sip at the time, chokes in surprise. "What- I, I don't," Burt stammers, still coughing a bit.

Kurt smirks at him and shrugs his shoulders. "Just asking."

Burt shakes his head, refusing to answer or even look Kurt in the eyes. "Anyways, here's your birthday present," Burt says, pulling a three hundred dollar American Express cared out of his pocket, "I know it's not the most creative present but-"

"Dad stop," he interrupts, "It's great. I already have a shopping trip planned for tomorrow."

Burt shakes his head, chuckling softly, and says, "I don't know how Mercedes and Rachel can possibly keep up with you when you're shopping."

"Actually," Kurt says, biting his lip, "I'm going shopping with Blaine."

Burt raises an eyebrow and Kurt, determined not to look suspicious, busies himself with clearing the dishes. "You and Blaine seem… close." Burt finally says.

Kurt hums noncommittally and avoids Burt's eyes; he's always been able to tell when he's lying. "We're just good friends," Kurt lies. He desperately hopes Burt believes him because if he questions him any more, he'll probably come out with the truth. He's never had to straight up lie to his dad before and it's an awful feeling. Kurt vows to talk to Blaine soon about at least telling their parents about them because he's not sure how much longer he can do this.

* * *

"So how much longer do you think we'll be at this?" Blaine asks after five hours, dozens of stores, and countless pieces of clothing.

They had driven all the way out to Columbus in order to shop in a bigger mall with more selection. It actually happened to be right near where Blaine use to go to school and after a lot of begging on Kurt's part, Blaine gave him a tour of the place. Kurt actually laughed out loud at how preppy the school was, especially after seeing all the boys in uniforms. Blaine's friends were gone for the weekend, though, so they didn't stay long.

"You're not having fun?" Kurt asks seriously, pretending to be very hurt at Blaine's question.

"What? No! This had been great, I-" Blaine stops when Kurt starts laughing at his panic. "You're so mean," he pouts.

Kurt swoops in and kisses Blaine's puckered lips quickly before he can protest. "Am I forgiven?"

"I don't know," Blaine tries, but his huge grin gives him away.

"And don't worry, I'm almost done, I just got to try these on," he says, raising his armful of jeans and sweaters. His theme for this shopping trip had been winter wear.

As they make their way over to the dressing room, Kurt finally gets the courage to bring up the thing he's been meaning to all day. "Blaine?"

Blaine hums in response as he leafs through a rack of fifty percent off cardigans.

"Do you think that after winter break we could come clean with our relationship?"

Blaine freezes but doesn't turn around. "Umm…" he trails off.

"It's just, the jocks haven't been so bad lately, and my new anti-bully measures will be active then so I just thought… I mean, aren't you tired of always having to sneak around?" Kurt asks, a little bit of desperation creeping into his voice.

"Of course I am," Blaine responds, turning around so he can make eye contact. "So," he starts and bites his lip, "yeah, I guess we can."

Kurt jumps a little, squealing, and leans forward to give Blaine another quick kiss. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He pauses before adding, "Do you think we should tell our parents beforehand. Maybe over the break?"

Blaine shakes his head quickly and says, "No." At Kurt's weird look, he says, "I mean I think it would just be better to do it all at once."

Kurt shrugs his shoulders, not really caring either way. The end of break was only three weeks away and knowing how fast the time around Christmas always moves, the big reveal will be here in no time. They slowly make their way to the dressing rooms, Kurt stopping multiple times to add more things to try on. Out of all the clothes Kurt picked up there's only one thing he really likes. It's cheetah print, knee length sweater, and he even found a matching tie to go with it. Even though he's decided on buying it he walks out to show Blaine anyway.

"What do you think?" he asks, twirling around to let him see all sides.

Blaine's jaw literally drops, and it takes him a moment to respond. "I like it," he says, his voice lower than normal.

Kurt resists laughing because earlier, when Blaine had come out in simply an undershirt, asking Kurt for a different size of something, he responded in a similar way. He walks back into the dressing room and is about to close the door when a body is suddenly pressed up against his back. He gasps loudly but before he can cry out, Blaine's lips are on his as he pushes him up against the wall. In his haste, Blaine's knee accidentally brushes Kurt's crotch, and he bites back a groan as he feels himself hardening.

"Don't start anything you can't finish Anderson," he warns, pulling away from the kiss.

"I'm not," Blaine says, nibbling on his ear. "My family is out for the evening, so we have the whole house to ourselves."

Kurt only has to think about for a second before he's dragging Blaine out of the room and up to the checkout so they can leave. The ride home is long and the tension seems to grow the closer they get to Lima. Kurt's nervous but not in an uncomfortable way. He trusts Blaine, and he wants this with him, but he's anxious all the same. He's never ventured into this territory before and he's terrified of messing something up and making a fool of himself.

When the pull up to the house Blaine's brow furrows and it takes Kurt a moment to figure out why.

"Wha-" Kurt starts, shooting Blaine a confused look because Sally's car is in the driveway. Blaine shakes his head, looking just as confused, and they hurriedly walk into the house.

"Hello! Mom! Are you home?" Blaine shouts the second they're inside.

Sally comes rushing out of her room and asks, "Yes, honey, what's the matter?"

Blaine shoulders visibly slump at seeing her and he asks, rather forcefully, "What are you doing here?"

"Mrs. Green had a family emergency and canceled the party…" she answers, obviously taken aback at Blaine's tone. "Why the interest?"

"No reason," Blaine grumbles.

Sally eyes him suspiciously before saying, "Kurt, happy belated birthday! How would you like to stay for dinner? I invited Burt over and he'll be here in oh," she cranes her neck to check the clock in the hallway, "an hour or so."

Kurt accepts the invitation, and they chat for a few minutes, mostly about how Kurt's birthday was, before he follows Blaine into the basement so they can talk in private.

"Sorry about that," Blaine says as they snuggle up on the couch to watch TV.

"It's ridiculous, our parents don't even know we're dating and they're still the biggest cock blocks ever," Kurt responds, trying to make light of the situation.

It must have worked because Blaine laughs softly and doesn't bring it up after that. Kurt smiles and nuzzles Blaine's neck, breathing his smell in deeply. This might not be what they planned, but it's wonderful all the same.


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter is... interesting to say the least. I'll save the longer author's not until the end to avoid spoilers.**

* * *

Kurt flies between the oven and the fridge, between blending and mixing, trying to get all the cookies done as soon as possible. The Andersons are due to arrive in just over an hour and he wants to get the actual dinner in the oven soon. His dad is out doing some last minute Christmas shopping, something that enraged Kurt because _really_, Christmas is _tomorrow. _Kurt had done most of his shopping weeks ago, although he did wait a while to get Blaine's present. Finally, he decided on a book with the chords for a bunch of Katy Perry songs. Blaine doesn't play the guitar yet, but he's recently expressed some interest in learning so a guitar is his big present from his mom this year.

Kurt sighs as he puts in the second-to-last batch of cookies and leans against the counter to rest for a few minutes. Despite not being religious, Christmas is one of his favorite times of the year. The coziness of his house, people's willingness to look on the bright side of things (something Kurt wishes he was better at), and the emphasis on family and friends. This year it also brings the relief in knowing that his NYADA application is completed and in some admissions office in New York City. He's sure the nervousness will hit later but for now, he's just glad he finished it in time.

The timer dings, so Kurt takes the batch of sugar cookies out and is reaching for the batch of chocolate chip cookies ready to go in when two arms encircle his waist and a kiss is planted on the back of his neck. He jumps slightly and hears the low chuckle of Blaine in his ear. Kurt turns around, staying in Blaine's arms, and tilts his head down to kiss him. Then he detangles himself, making sure to keep his hands, which are flour and dough covered, from touching any part of Blaine's clothing. Blaine pouts until he notices all the cookies surrounding him but before he can do more than widen his eyes, Kurt makes a noise of disapproval and shakes his head.

"Oh no you don't. None of these are being eaten until after dinner."

Blaine, ignoring Kurt, walks over to a plate sitting next to the stove and asks, "What are these?"

"Uh," Kurt hesitates, "I don't know the actual name for them, I just call them treats. My mom taugh- _Blaine!"_ he hisses as Blaine pops one into his mouth.

Blaine moans long and low as he finishes chewing the treat. "Those are so good, what are the made from?"

Kurt stomps over and grabs Blaine's wrist as he reaches for another one, using his other hand to snatch the plate away and move it to the fridge. "You put a Hershey kiss on a square pretzel and put it in the oven so the Hershey kiss softens and then you take an M&M and push it into the Hershey kiss." Kurt moves back to stand next to Blaine and is in the process of giving him a dirty look when Blaine suddenly crowds into Kurt's space and pushes him up against the side of the fridge, kissing him fiercely. Kurt's hands reflexively move to Blaine's ass to pull him closer, and he immediately curses himself because now there are two very distinct flour hand prints on the back of his black jeans. Kurt pulls back from the kiss because he needs air, as well as the fact that his dad will be home any minute.

"How soon until-"

"Any time now," Kurt says before he can finish.

Blaine growls in frustration but doesn't kiss him again. Instead he rests his forehead against Kurt's, and they stand there, breathing in the same air, until they hear the front door open. Reluctantly, they break apart, and Kurt goes to put in that last batch of cookies as Burt walks into the kitchen.

"Oh hey Blaine, is your mom here?"

"Not yet, they should be here in a half hour or so, I just came over early," he answers.

"Okay I'm going to go put away…" Burt trails off, causing Kurt to look up. His throat goes dry because Blaine turned around to grab a cup from the cabinet, and Burt is staring at the handprints, his eyes wide.

"I- uh- Blaine was helping me cook early!" Kurt blurts out, his cheeks reddening.

Blaine, still completely oblivious, turns around, shooting Kurt a curiously look, and opens his mouth to, Kurt guesses, dispute what he just said, so he cuts him off. "He refused to wear an apron so things got a little messy," he says shrugging, glad that Blaine is now facing his dad again so he can't examine what would be impossible to disguise as random cooking mess.

Burt's expression tells Kurt he isn't buying any of it, and he knows he's going to be questioned later but thankfully, for now he says he's going upstairs to wrap his last couple of presents.

"What was that all about?" Blaine asks once he leaves.

Kurt swallows the lump in his throat and mumbles "Look at your butt."

Blaine gives Kurt a bewildered look but glances over his shoulder, and his face morphs into one of terror. "Do you think he saw?"

"No," Kurt lies. "I'm almost positive he believed me when I said it was just from you helping me out earlier." Kurt feels bad about lying, but it's not like he has a choice. Blaine would freak if he found out Burt saw, and Kurt will do damage control with his dad later so it will all be fine.

Blaine sighs in relief, and Kurt manages a smile. "You know," Blaine says, looking over his shoulder again, "if this wasn't so poorly timed, that would actually be really hot."

Kurt grins and swoops in to give him a quick peck before instructing Blaine to wipe it off and wash his hands so he can help him out with dinner.

* * *

Dinner passes by in a blur of happy chatter and good food. No longer are there awkward silences or forced conversations when the Andersons and Hummels have dinner together. They talk about colleges and how, hopefully, they'll both be in New York by next time this year.

"It's so nice that both of you will be there, you can carpool when coming home," Sally says with a huge smile. "Thank goodness Maria will still be here for a while, I'm not ready for an empty nest yet," she laughs and rubs Maria's head. Maria dodges her hand, grumbling something about not being a little kid anymore.

"Yeah," Burt agrees, "I'm not ready either, but it's coming whether I want it to or not."

Kurt shoots his dad a sad smile and feels a little guilt tugging at his chest. Since high school started Kurt's been talking and dreaming about getting out of Lima and to New York without ever stopping to think how it would affect his dad. He hoped Sally would solve all of those problems, that it would stop him from being lonely, but Kurt's coming to realize it's still going to be extremely hard on him.

The kids go into the family room after dinner to watch Christmas specials while the adults deal with the kitchen. Maria chooses Frosty the Snowman over Rudolph even after vehement complaints from Kurt. Although he'd never admit it, he likes both of them well enough despite being cheesy and cliché, but the Frosty theme song gets stuck in his head every year. He goes up to grab a blanket from a neighboring chair but before he can return to the couch, Burt pulls him aside. Once they are out of earshot of the kitchen and the family room, Burt stops and wrings his hands together, giving Kurt an appraising look.

"What?" Kurt asks, unsuccessfully feigning ignorance.

"Don't make me say it," Burt warns, looking far more comfortable with the whole situation than Kurt imagined.

"I-we were just fooling around." Kurt tries to keep the whine out of his voice, but he doesn't quite manage it.

Burt huffs out a humorless laugh and asks, "Is that why you looked like your favorite got kicked off America's Next Top Runway when I saw it?"

Kurt decides this isn't the best time to correct his dad's mistake and instead, struggles to find something to tell him that would make this normal. If he had more time, he knows he would have been able to come up with something, but this conversation came sooner than he expected.

"If you and Blaine are… _involved _in that way-" Burt starts, but Kurt is quick to shake his head.

"No, we're just friends." Kurt cringes as he says it because it sounds weak even to his own ears. And the worst part it, Burt won't question it. He trusts Kurt to tell him the truth because that's the kind of relationship they have. In a week, when Burt finds out Kurt was lying to him this whole time, shit is going to hit the fan. What had seemed like a reasonable idea at the time is now becoming the cause of a lot of stress. Kurt might not be an expert on relationships, but he's pretty sure that's not how they're suppose to work. He's entirely thankful there's only a week left of secrecy because he's unsure he could handle much more.

Kurt returns to the couch to find Blaine staring off into the distance with a disgusted look on his face. Kurt elbows him and asks, "What's wrong?"

"Your tree," he states, as if it's obvious.

"What's wrong with the tree?" Kurt asks defensively. He had put a lot of time and energy into making sure that tree was perfect. It's strung up with white lights and has red and white checked ornaments evenly spaced out all over the tree with small gold ornament interspersed between them. There's a star on the top of the tree, but it's neither big nor bright because he doesn't want it overpowering the rest of the decorations.

"It's fake!" Blaine exclaims, looking completely distraught.

"Well yeah," Kurt replies, "there's no way I'm going to deal with all the pine needles a live tree leaves behind. I did stick a couple of pine scented air fresheners on the tree, way far back towards the middle so nobody can see them of course, so it still smells like a real one."

"You disgust me," he says, but there's no venom in his voice.

They continue watching the show until their parents come into the room, and Maria starts jumping around yelling about presents. Even though Kurt knows it's something all kids do, it annoys him, because gift giving is the one thing he doesn't like about Christmas. It's not that he doesn't like getting presents, he just hates how that's the main focus during Christmas now. People try to show their love and affection towards one another with material possession; the bigger the better. Kurt tries to be, as he calls it, a practical gift giver, so he only gets things for people he knows they will use.

To calm Maria down, the first gift is presented to her from Kurt and Burt. They got her a small bathtub doll that has a removable mermaid tale and long blond hair.

"The hair turns blue when it comes in contact with warm water," Kurt informs her as she reads the back of the box excitedly.

"Oh thank you!" she says and jumps up to give both of them big hugs.

Next, Sally gives Burt an envelope that contains two tickets to a Buckeyes basketball game in a few weeks. As soon as Burt sees what they are, he turns to point at Blaine and asks, "Hey bud, you coming with?"

Kurt feels a twinge of jealousy even though he hates basketball, but it disappears once he sees the look on Blaine's face. The utter surprise that turns into a broad smile which he quickly tries to tone down before saying yes. Kurt's happy to share his dad with Blaine because god knows he needs a better father figure than the last one. Then, Burt gives Sally a pair of pretty opal earrings that Kurt, of course, helped pick out. She thanks him profusely and even leans over to give him a quick peck on the lips. Burt colors at the public display, and Kurt looks the other way busying himself with helping Maria get her doll out of the package.

After the moment passes, Kurt stands up to get his present for Blaine, and he's about to hand it over when he realizes _shit, Blaine doesn't actually have his guitar yet. _The inner family present exchanges aren't happening until tomorrow, Christmas day, so if Kurt gives his present it will ruin the surprise. Kurt turns around to catch Sally's eye and looks pointedly between the box in his hands and Blaine until she gets it.

"Oh," she gasps softly but then shrugs her shoulders and motions for Kurt to give it to him anyway.

Blaine takes the package with a puzzled look on his face and rips off the wrapping carefully. It takes him a moment to process what it is but when he does, his faces lights up, and he looks excitedly between Sally and Kurt.

"Does this mean…" he asks, trailing off. When Sally nods, he jumps to his feet and pulls Kurt into a tight hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he exclaims in his ear. "This is perfect!"

Normally, Kurt loves getting hugs from Blaine, but right now he just wants him to let go. He can practically feel Burt's eyes boring into his back and the last thing he wants is another awkward conversation about his relationship with Blaine. Blaine does stop a second later and moves over to his mom who he also hugs tightly. Once all the excitement is over, Blaine really can act like a puppy sometimes, he gives Kurt his own present.

"You remembered?" Kurt asks softly when he sees the emerald green broach that is almost identical to the one Kurt was complaining he lost a few weeks ago.

"Of course I did," Blaine replies with smile.

With all the gift giving over, Kurt runs up to his room and grabs his iPod so he can put on his Christmas playlist in the family room. They spend the rest of the evening singing, laughing, drinking, and generally enjoying each other's company. Burt looks mighty uncomfortable when the singing first starts but by the end of the night, with the help of some alcohol, he is belting out the songs along with everyone else. The Anderson's leave with promises of meeting up with them in two days, as they are going back to Westerville tomorrow to spend Christmas day with Sally's mom. When they're gone, Kurt thinks the house feel strangely empty, and judging by the look on Burt's face, he feels the same way.

* * *

"You think it's been long enough?" Blaine asks breathlessly. Without waiting for an answer, he pushes Kurt up against the front door and ghosts his lips up and down his neck teasingly.

"I-uh, yes," Kurt stutters, "it's been ten minutes I think we're fine."

"Then let's go," Blaine says, grabbing Kurt's hand and tugging towards the stairs as if it's his own house.

The arousal fades slightly as they walk to Kurt's room, and it's replaced by a sense of nervous excitement. Kurt closes the door behind him as they enter the room and turns to face Blaine, taking a deep breath.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Blaine asks, the sense of urgency having completely evaporated.

"Yes," Kurt assures him, and he moves to sit next to Blaine on the bed. He kisses him, and they slowly shift downwards so they are lying on their sides with their legs still hanging off the edge. It's a little uncomfortable, but Kurt isn't quite ready to make the move to be completely on the bed. The kiss slowly intensifies, and the want and desperation present when Blaine first arrived is back and taking over.

When it gets to be not enough, Kurt breaks the kiss and scrambles farther up onto the bed, tugging at Blaine's shirt to get him to follow. Once Blaine settles himself back on Kurt and reattaches his lips, Kurt reaches for the hem of his shirt. He drags it up almost all the way but has to stop when it reaches his head because Blaine's lips are still planted firmly on his. Blaine pulls it the rest of the way off and starts to dive back into the kiss but then stops and brings his hands to Kurt's own shirt. He looks at him to make sure this is okay and when Kurt nods, he shucks it off in one quick motion.

"Oh Kurt," Blaine groans when he lets his weight drop back on Kurt, and their bare skin touches. Kurt kind of wishes he could see Blaine shirtless, really take his time and map out his entire chest, but there's no time for that. He's hard as a rock and although Blaine is holding his hips back, Kurt knows he is too.

"Come on Blaine," Kurt growls and puts both hands on his ass, forcing his hips downward. They both moan loudly as their erections rub against each other through the thick denim of their jeans. Now that Blaine has let himself go, he is grinding down against Kurt hard and fast. Kurt bucks up to meet his thrusts, trying to keep his cries to a minimum despite being home alone. Blaine reaches his hands up above his body to grab the headboard and uses it to further push himself into Kurt. Kurt feels the heat pooling dangerously fast and is about to suggest they remove their pants because he really doesn't want to stain them when he hears a far away voice. By the time he sorts through the lust clouding his brain and processes what that means, it's too late.

"Hey Kurt," Burt says, knocking once before barging through the door, "have you… _what the hell?_"

Kurt shoves Blaine off him and sits up, but there's no hiding what he just walked in on.

"Burt!" Blaine squeaks when he sees the cause of Kurt's sudden actions.

Burt stands there in shock for a few seconds then shakes his head. "Kid," he directs at Blaine, sounding resigned, "I think you better go. But uh, put a shirt on will yeah?"

Blaine nods quickly and begins to scurry around the room looking for his clothes.

"Kurt, I want you downstairs in five minutes. We're having a serious talk." And with that, Burt leaves the room, making sure the door is wide open.

Once he leaves, Blaine stops running around to look at Kurt, raw fear in his eyes.

"Look Blaine, I know this is going to be uncomfortable, but it's not the end of the world," he reasons.

"Not the end of the world?" Blaine hisses. "Your dad just walked in on us… _having sex_," he continues, whispering the last two words.

"All my dad knows is that we were kissing, and that's all he's going to know okay? I agree this isn't an ideal way for him to find out about us but-"

"But nothing!" Blaine snaps, and Kurt looks up at him in shock. "This is going to ruin everything!" he barks in the same angry voice.

Kurt shakes his head. "I don't-"

"Burt is going to hate me now," he explains, his voice softening slightly, "and he's the closest thing I have to a dad right now." Kurt feels like his heart is breaking but Blaine still has more to say. "And that's not the worst of it. I'm ruining my mom's life, _again. _My dad left because of me; he couldn't handle having a 'faggot' for a son. I made my mom's husband leave, I made Maria's dad leave, and now Burt's probably going to leave, and it's all my fault."

"No Blaine-" Kurt tries to protest, but Blaine keeps on talking as if he didn't say anything.

"And even if it doesn't happen now, what if they end it because they think it's weird their children are dating or what if we get in a fight down the road and they have to choose sides and it cause tension between them and oh god," Blaine babbles. Tears come to his eyes, and he turns to face Kurt.

"Kurt, we can't do this anymore," he says quietly.

"What, no!" Kurt gasps, starting to cry as well.

"I just-I just can't risk it." And with that Blaine is running out the door, pulling his shirt over his head as he goes.

* * *

**u guyz ok? I hope this doesn't upset you too much!** **On a side note, the reason this was posted later than usual was because I was busy listening to the new glee songs! They we're fantastic don't you think?! My favorite is... boys/boyfriend I think but I haven't listened to them but once through! So tell me, which one did you like best?**


	12. Chapter 12

**If I named the chapters this would be called "The Aftermath"... but I don't so it's called chapter 12. Just a reminder: I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH AND YOUR REVIEWS AND FAVORITES MAKE ME SO HAPPY AND I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH 3**

* * *

It's been much longer than five minutes by the time Kurt makes it downstairs but that's the least of his concerns right now. _Blaine just broke up with him_. Every time he thinks he has it under control that thought flashes through his mind and he's back to square one. Kurt had allowed himself to cry but only for a few minutes because he has other stuff to worry about; the most important being what he's going to tell his dad. He wants to tell him the truth, if only to have someone to vent to about everything he's been keeping bottled up, but then he remembers Blaine terrified and tear stained face. Burt won't _hate _Blaine, but Kurt would be lying if he said he didn't think this would affect their relationship. Hoping to minimize the inevitable awkwardness, his plan is to come up with a story that understates the relationship he had with Blaine.

Kurt doesn't have a clear idea of what that story is going to be and he's still unsure when he walks into the kitchen a sits down across from Burt. He knew this was going to be bad and Burt's presence at the table confirms that. Kurt's not sure why, but anytime the two of them have a serious discussion it's done at the kitchen table. Burt clears his throat and waits until Kurt looks at him before starting.

"I don't even know where to start," Burt admits. The tone of his voice is more upset than angry and Kurt doesn't know quite what to make of that.

"I'm sorry," Kurt whispers, his voice still weak from crying.

"I don't want you to be sorry, I want to understand." When Kurt doesn't offer any response he continues, "Are you and Blaine in a relationship?"

"No," Kurt answers truthfully.

"Well what then?" Burt demands in frustration, "Are you guys friend's with benefits or something?"

Kurt flushes red and quickly shakes his head. "We were just…" he starts before pausing; he needs a moment to think. He has an idea but he wants to make sure he words it correctly. "Experimenting," he finishes.

"Experimenting?"

"Yes. We um- neither of us have had boyfriends before so we were just wondering what that stuff was like." Kurt's stomach knots uncomfortably at the thought that he's lying to his dad again and his only saving grace is knowing that this will help Blaine. Even after everything that's happened, his concern for him rivals little else.

"How often were these… _experiments?" _ Burt asks, putting air quotes around the last word.

"Not often. And they never went too far," he adds.

Burt scoffs at that and says, "They went far enough." Kurt suddenly lets out a small sob which he quickly muffles with his hand. It's nothing his dad said directly, but rather the overall stress of the whole situation. Burt misunderstands though and quickly apologizes. "Shit, Kurt, I'm sorry. I don't mean to- I just want you to remember that you matter. Remember the conversation we had last year?"

Kurt nods, not trusting himself to talk, and Burt says, "Okay good. I just don't want anyone taking advantage of you."

"Blaine wasn't," Kurt assures him.

"Glad to hear it. But if he was-"

"He wasn't," Kurt states firmly. The last thing he needs is Burt thinking Blaine is some kind of sexual predator. "It was all completely mutual. But don't worry," he says, seeing the look on Burt's face, "it's all over now. None of _that _will be happening again."

Burt sighs. "Look Kurt, I'm not here to tell you how to run your life. You're eighteen now, and while you still have to follow my rules since you live under my roof, I trust you to make your own decisions."

Kurt shakes his head slightly, marveling at Burt's mature parenting style. Most parents try to control their child's every move which causes them to rebel thus resulting in even stricter rules and it becomes this never ending cycle that creates a broken relationship between the two of them. They mean well but their tactics are completely wrong. Kurt knows that when he's a father he won't try and stop his children from making mistakes, but he'll be there to help them pick up the pieces.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, both lost in thought, before Kurt breeches the subject he's been waiting to. "Blaine's a good guy," Kurt says simply, looking at Burt to gauge his reaction.

"And…" he trails off, waiting for Kurt to continue.

"I just don't want this to affect the way you look at him."

"It's going to be hard for it not to," Burt says honestly. "But I'll try," he adds, catching the way Kurt's face falls. Kurt perks back up at this, grateful that Burt hasn't completely written Blaine off. "You know I'm going to have to talk with Sally about this," Burt says and Kurt nods.

It's not until a few seconds later that it registers what Burt said and panic sets in. Kurt hadn't thought about the fact that Burt and Sally would be discussing this. If Blaine tells Sally the truth then all of this would have been for nought and Kurt will get in huge trouble for lying. He makes a mental note to text Blaine later and tell him to give Sally the same fake story.

Kurt starts to rise from his seat but Burt tells him to hold up. "Wait a second there, we haven't discussed punishment yet. First off, you're grounded until further notice."

Kurt doesn't argue even though technically, he didn't break any rules. He guesses it's kind of unwritten that you don't have sex with your father's girlfriend's son when nobodies home.

"Also," he continues, "Blaine's not allowed over here, and you're not allowed over there, unless Sally or I are home."

"That's not going to be a problem," Kurt mumbles and when Burt asks him to repeat what he said he shakes his head.

"Alright then… you can go," Burt says.

Kurt makes it about halfway to his room before the tears start to flow and they don't stop until he's in his bed and nodding off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Kurt wakes up, stretches his arms above his head until he hears his shoulders crack, and rolls over to look at his clock before groaning. There may be no school but he still can't break the habit of getting up early. He gets back under the covers and tries to doze off again but he knows it's futile and pretty soon he's walking down into the kitchen and fixing himself a cup of coffee. A note on the refrigerator tells him that Burt went into the shop early this morning so he takes his coffee and walks onto the back porch. Nothing wakes him up like the crisp early morning air.

Kurt hasn't seen anyone all break and it's not just because he's been grounded. Mercedes and Rachel called his house a few times after realizing his phone was confiscated, but he avoided talking to them by pretending to be sick. Unless they've talked to Blaine they know nothing of their fight and he really doesn't want to explain it to them right now. The night of the fight, before Burt took his phone, Kurt texted Blaine and explained to him what he told Burt. Blaine sent back a thankful message, praising Kurt's "genius" plan, and agreed that if Sally brought it up he would tell her the same thing. Whether or not she ever did Kurt doesn't know since he hasn't talked to him again.

As the week's gone by, Kurt's anger at Blaine has been increasing quite rapidly. First off, Blaine lied to him. Maybe not in the traditionally sense of telling him something that wasn't true, but he withheld important information; specifically the stuff about his dad. Second, he freaked out and broke up with Kurt without having time to think logically about process what the best course of action was. And lastly, he's yet to apologize. Blaine said, no _yelled_, some pretty rude things at Kurt and an apology would be nice.

Underneath the anger, however, something else has been eating away at Kurt. Thinking back to what Blaine said brings Kurt physical pain because the amount of guilt Blaine is carrying cannot be healthy. He wishes he could help him, to somehow lift some of that weight off his shoulders, but he can't unless Blaine will let him. Part of him wants to reach out to Blaine and offer him help but for now his pride won't let him. _If Blaine needs help he'll come to me,_ he reasons. It's a coward's argument but for now he's content to be a coward.

The rest of the morning is spent lounging around, catching up on homework, and worrying about his NYADA application. It's still going to be a few weeks before the finalists are announced but with all this free time his mind can't help but wander. His dad came home for lunch around one o'clock so he's the one who answers the door and let's Mercedes and Rachel inside.

"Yes Kurt is here, he's just moping in the family room," Kurt hears from the hallway.

The two girls come bustling in and sit on either side of him, immediately firing off questions about his whereabouts for the last couple days.

"Guys, calm down, I've been here. I've just been feeling a little under the weather."

Mercedes gives him a look that says _I don't believe a word you're saying _but Rachel seems to take it just fine.

"Well I hope you're feeling better because we've been invited to Brittney's New Year's Eve party this year!" Rachel squeals, bouncing up and down on the couch in excitement.

Brittney's New Year's Eve party is one of the biggest traditions at McKinley High. She has it every year and getting on the invite list is not an easy task. Last year, to Rachel's distress, nobody from the Glee club was invited because Santana was afraid they would scare away the popular crowd. This created a standoff between her and Rachel that resulted in weeks of unproductive Glee club meetings. Why they suddenly got the invite this year is unbeknownst to Kurt but either way he has no interest in going. The party is famous for including copious amounts of drinking and hooking up, neither of which Kurt has any desire to participate in. He turns to Mercedes, expecting to see the same disgusted look on her face, but she actually looks excited too.

"Really 'Cedes?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

She shrugs. "Could be fun."

"Even if I wanted to, which I don't," Kurt clarifies, "I can't. I'm grounded."

"Not for tonight you're not," Burt says, walking in from other room.

Kurt splutters, totally not expecting this. "Wait, let me get this straight. You _want _me to go to a crazy party with underage drinking?" he asks incredulously.

"I _want _you to get out of this house. You've been sulking around since Friday and quite frankly I don't think it's healthy."

Kurt shoots daggers at his dad, hoping desperately that Rachel and Mercedes didn't catch on to the Friday thing, but unfortunately they did. "What happened on Friday?" Rachel asks.

"Nothing," he says dismissively. "And fine, I'll go," he adds, hoping to distract them.

It works and the conversation quickly turns to driving arrangements and what outfit to wear.

"Wait, is Blaine going to be there?" Kurt asks, interrupting the girl's chatter. He desperately hopes not because there's no way he's ready to face him just yet.

"Oh sure you can invite him. Santana said anyone from the Glee club can come," Rachel responds, misinterpreting his question.

Mercedes, always the more intuitive friend, sees the look on Kurt's face and pauses. "Is everything okay boo?"

Kurt's instinct is to assure them he's fine but he figures he'll have to come up with some excuse for why Blaine and he are no longer friends. He bites his lip and admits, "Actually we, Blaine and I, got in a fight the other day."

Both his friends make sympathetic noises and Rachel pulls him into a tight hug. "What about?" she questions, her voice muffled by Kurt's hair.

"Oh nothing really," Kurt says, dodging the question, "just stupid stuff."

"Well I'm sure you'll get it all sorted out soon," Mercedes says and Kurt forces a smile and nods.

"All of us in Glee club are rooting for you two. I mean, Puck always says it's because he thinks you'll be less uptight if you get laid or something, but we all really think you guys should get together."

Kurt looks at Mercedes in shock and she nods, confirming Rachel's words. As much as he loves to complain about them, he guesses the kids in Glee really are his family.

"Like I said Kurt, I'm sure you and Blaine will end this little fight soon enough."

* * *

Entering the party Kurt had a plan. That very same plan went to shit about five minutes after arriving.

"Hey guys glad you could make it!'" shouts a very drunk Puck. He crosses the room in three strides and throws one arm and around Kurt and the other around Mercedes. Rachel stands off to the side, clutching Finn's hand tightly, and looks at Puck in disgust. A few guys call out to Finn and wave him over to the open keg where they're standing so the two of them head over in that direction.

"Where's your little butt buddie?" Puck slurs, taking another swig of whatever it is he's drinking. The term and insinuation should offend Kurt but it doesn't because that's just how Puck is. He doesn't mean any harm, and he's actually more considerate than most of the guys at McKinley.

Before Kurt can respond someone lets a celebratory cheer and the three of them turn to see some guy, a hockey player Kurt thinks, waving a bottle of whiskey above his head. "Finally got the damn liquor cabinet open!" he shouts and Puck quickly runs over to guy, calling dibs on the first drink.

Kurt tries to catch Mercedes' eye but she's laughing at Sam and Artie who are dancing wildly a little ways away. There are people everywhere and the music is blasting so loud the house is shaking yet Kurt still feels so alone. This will simply not do. He grabs Mercedes by the arm and drags her in the direction of the bar area. Puck and his friend are setting out shot glasses along the bar and without thinking Kurt takes one and downs it. It burns going down and he has to fight it from coming back up but as soon as he's sure it's not going to he grabs another. When that one's gone the room is spinning slightly and everything looks blurry as if his eyes are crossed. He then realizes that his eyes actually are crossed.

"Whoa! Hummel I'm pressed, you took those like a pro," Santana says, coming out of nowhere. "Come on over here, I need a partner."

Suddenly Kurt's being pulled into another room where a group of tall, athletic looking guys are playing beer pong. "Out of the way bitches, me and my boy here are ready for some real competition." Santana uses her hip to bump two of the boys out of the way and they scowl at her but move off to the side to let them play.

"This is the great partner you were talking about?" a guy with short hair and a pimply face asks, snickering loudly.

"Nope… he's better. Now let's get it started!" she shouts and the game commences.

Kurt's never played beer pong before but it's not rocket science so he catches on pretty quickly. Throwing the balls is not his strong suit but he's surprisingly good at the actual chugging part. They win the game with ease but Kurt refuses a rematch because he can barely walk as is. He stumbles back into the main room and slams into an annoyed looking Rachel.

"What, the party isn't all it's cracked up to be?" Kurt asks with a huge grin on his face. He hiccups loudly and Rachel's eyes widen when she sees how drunk he is.

She doesn't comment on it, however, and whines, "Finn's been looking at Quinn all night!"

Kurt looks at sees that indeed, Finn is standing in a corner and staring rather creepily at Quinn, who's talking with a couple other cheerios. "Maybe… Maybe it's because you're over here pouting rather than talking with him!" Kurt exclaims as if he's just solved one of life's greatest mysteries.

Rachel rolls her eyes but takes Kurt's advice and stalks off in Finn's direction. Kurt staggers aimlessly around the room until somebody tugs him off course. After the room stops spinning he sees that it's Mercedes along with a couple other kids from Glee. Mike's there and so is Sugar but those are the only two faces he registers before the dizziness sets in again.

"Are you okay?" Mercedes voice sounds far away as if she's speaking to him from underwater. Kurt opens his mouth to respond but nothing comes out. The last thing he remembers before passing out is seeing Mercedes concerned face looking down at him.

* * *

When Kurt wakes up it takes him a moment to realize there's no music playing; the pounding is all in his head. He groans and shifts slightly but even the tiny movement sends intense pains shooting through his head. As the sleepiness fades it becomes clear that he's spent all night at Brittney's with only a small, decorative pillow between him and the hard floor. A feeling of horror slowly seeps in as he realizes a good part of last night is a complete black spot. He could have done anything, or _anyone, _and he wouldn't be the wiser. The latter is unlikely considering the lack of gay guys around but the idea that he doesn't know is completely terrifying. Kurt's all about control and this morning he feels less in control than ever.

"Oh good you're up, I was just about to wake you." Kurt sits up the rest of the way at the voice and sees Mercedes sitting on a nearby couch nursing a glass of water.

"I- we, what…" Kurt tries but his brain won't work with him enough to come up with a decent question.

Mercedes laughs and says, "Man you really were _wasted_ last night. We were all pretty drunk though," she concedes, "so we decided just to crash here for the night."

Kurt looks around and sees a couple other people milling around although there are still a great number passed out in various places. He doesn't see any other Glee club members, however, except for Santana and Brittney who are snuggled up on one of the couches.

"Sam, Mike, Finn, and Rachel left a little while ago," Mercedes says as if reading Kurt's mind. "I decided to let you sleep for a little longer considering you were the drunkest of anyone last night. But don't worry, I didn't let you do anything too crazy."

Kurt hums softly in acknowledgement and slowly gets to his feet, using a small coffee table for support. With Mercedes' help, Kurt manages to hobble out of the house before the nausea sets in. He ends up leaning over into the bushes by Brittney's front porch and unloading his stomach. Mercedes looks disgusted but to her defense she stays with Kurt the entire time to make sure he doesn't fall over.

"Why aren't you hung-over?" Kurt asks once they've made it to the car. He winces as Mercedes slams her door and she sends him an apologetic look.

"I didn't drink all that much, just enough to get buzzed," she answers.

Kurt nods and they rest of the car ride is spent trying to fight back the still present nausea so he doesn't throw up in her car. When they reach his house Mercedes offers to help him inside but he tells her no thanks.

"Thanks for everything but I got it," Kurt says, climbing out of the car.

"No problem. Call me when you feel better okay?"

Kurt agrees and then starts the slow, painful journey up his driveway. He pauses for a second on the porch to try and steady himself. There's no real way to cover up the fact that he's hung-over but he can at least attempt to.

"Hey bud, how's it going?" Burt says loudly, coming to greet Kurt in the front hallway. He slaps Kurt good naturedly on the back and Kurt can't hold back a pained whimper. His dad's knowing smile says he's aware of Kurt's state and is going to make him pay for that.

"I was just about to make some pancakes, you want some?" Kurt's stomach twists at the thought of food and he quickly shakes his head.

"I think I'm just going to go upstairs and sleep for a little bit," Kurt manages.

Kurt brushes part him and heads straight for his bathroom to grab the bottle of aspirin before going to his room. He downs a couple capsules before collapsing on his bed, fully clothed, and falling into a fitful sleep. The rest of the day is spent in bouts of sleeping and eating and Kurt is thankful for his dad's allowance of that. He was fine after he talked to him and convinced him that while yes, he drank, no, he didn't drive or do anything else he regrets. Kurt wonders if Mercedes' decision not to drink was so she could watch out for him and he decides that he has the best friends in the world.

Kurt shoves all of his responsibilities off until tomorrow, ever grateful that there's one more day until school starts again. He also realizes this means there's only one more day until he has to see Blaine again. If Blaine had been at the party Kurt doesn't remember it, and somehow he thinks the presence of that boy would have broken through his alcohol altered brain. Shaking his head as if it's an etch-a-sketch that can erase his thoughts, Kurt vows to stop thinking about Blaine and focus on something else, _anything _else, for the time being.


	13. Chapter 13

**Here we go...**

* * *

Tuesday morning dawns bright and early and Kurt's never wanted to sleep in more than he does right now. He barely got any sleep last night, but he got enough that his second wind hasn't kicked in. Today is the day he has to see Blaine, go to class with Blaine, and eat lunch with Blaine. All the while pretending the boy hadn't just broken his heart. At least he wouldn't have to suffer through an awkward ten minute car ride with him; Blaine texted him last night saying he could drive himself to school. It's silly but getting that text was the moment it really sank in that he and Blaine aren't going to be okay. This isn't some minor fight that they're going to be able to laugh about in a week. No, they've actually broken up.

Kurt trudges downstairs and riffles through the fridge but doesn't find anything that looks even remotely appetizing. Sighing, he reaches for the orange juice and pours himself a glass before sitting down on one of the stools at the island counter.

"You're late today," Burt comments as he walks into the kitchen.

Kurt, startled by his voice, flinches and spills a little of the orange juice. He curses under his breath and quickly surveys his clothes but none of the juice seems to have spilled on him.

"Oh, yeah, well I'm not driving Blaine today."

Kurt preferred to get to school as late as possible, a habit he fell into when Karofsky was terrorizing him every chance he got. Blaine, however, liked to have a little leisure time in the morning so Kurt had indulged him.

Burt raises an eyebrow and turns to face Kurt. "This doesn't have anything to do with, you know, the _thing,_ does it?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Blaine just said he didn't need a ride anymore."

Clearing his throat, Burt rubs the back of his neck looking a little guilty. "About what happened… I'm sorry if I made things awkward between you two. I know I was kind of harsh when I talked to Blaine, but I was just surprised. Maybe I should talk to him…" Burt trails off, looking uncertain.

"No," Kurt says quickly, "it will be fine, we'll be fine. I'm sure things will be back to normal soon," he finishes, forcing a smile.

Burt doesn't look convinced but, thankfully, he drops the subject.

* * *

Kurt walks into physics class just as the late bell is ringing and he quickly makes his way towards his seat so as not to be yelled at. He accidentally catches Blaine's eye and the boy offers him a smile, which he doesn't return. Instead, he hurriedly averts his eyes and takes his seat, ruffling through his bag to buy him a couple extra seconds. When he looks up at the board, he can see from his peripheral vision that Blaine is still looking at him, but he stops when Mr. Willis calls everyone to attention.

The routine of the class is soothing to Kurt and he is almost able to ignore the way Blaine's eyes keep flitting towards him. He knows he can't avoid him forever but that still doesn't make it any easier. When the lesson is almost over, Kurt starts putting away his stuff to prepare for a quick exit, but then Mr. Willis coughs loudly.

"Excuse me, class is not over," he says, his whiny voice grating Kurt's nerves. "And I have an announcement to make. Using all the knowledge about energy and motion that you've learned so far, you are all going to be building a model rocket." Despite the whole class having known this was coming, as told by previous students, everyone groans. "This will be a partner project," he continues as if no one said anything, "and I will be assigning the pairs." The class had perked up at the notion of having a partner but quickly groaned again at the fact they would be random.

Kurt had paled at the words "partner assignment" and as the teacher starts reading out the pairs his hands begin to sweat. He's always hated doing group projects and not just because he usually ends up doing all the work. Looking around the class, about half the kids hate him for being gay and the other half, while not hating him per say, generally feel uncomfortable around him.

"Samantha and Joey, Katelyn and Amanda, Jim and Arnold," Mr. Willis reads off mechanically. The last two, Jim and Arnold, high five loudly as their names are read, and Mr. Willis stops talking to glare at them. Once they settle down, he starts again, "Danielle and David, Kurt and Blaine…" Kurt's pretty sure he keeps going after that but he's no longer paying any attention. Without meaning to, he glances over at Blaine who meets his eyes and gives him a small smile which Kurt ignores, again.

The bell rings a second later and those who already have their assigned partner get up and file out. Kurt's plan to rush out of the classroom is momentarily forgotten which allows Blaine to fall into step with him.

"Hey so... we're partners I guess," Blaine says cheerily.

"Mhmm," Kurt hums, decidedly not looking at him.

Blaine falls silent, the smile leaving his face, and he says-no, pleads, "Can't we still be friend?"

Kurt has a million responses running though his mind, many of which are clever or angry, but all that comes out is a very broken "I don't know." And with that Kurt is hurrying away from Blaine and wiping at his eyes before the tears start to fall.

* * *

"This has been the _worst. week_. _ever_," Kurt vents to Rachel as they head to the choir room.

"I agree with you one hundred percent," Rachel says, sounding uncharacteristically down.

Kurt rolls his eyes and says, "Really? I thought you _loved _the idea of a musical proposal and thought it was _so romantic_."

Rachel huffs and crosses her arms at Kurt's sarcastic tone. "I do. There have just been… other things going on."

Kurt frowns and gives Rachel a once over. Her hair is much messier than usual, her eyes look puffy, and her whole demeanor seems hunched in on herself. It's such a contrast from normal Rachel Berry that Kurt doesn't know how he didn't see it until now. "What's the matter?" he asks softly.

She bites her lip and says, "We can't talk here, can you come over tonight? I'll invite Mercedes too. It'll be like old times."

Hooking his arm in hers, Kurt agrees and they walk into the room together. Once inside, Rachel breaks away to go sit with Finn, but she doesn't look very happy about it and Kurt wonders if he could be the reason for her stress. He wouldn't be surprised, their relationship has never been very steady and he's pretty sure this is the longest they've gone without a breakup. Kurt seeks out Mercedes and goes to sit with her, ignoring the stares of Tina and Mike. Kurt and Blaine, who have been practically attached at the hip all year, haven't sat with each other all week and it's caused quite a stir. Nobodies mentioned it to their faces yet, but he hears the murmurs. Of everyone, Tina and Mike seem most upset. Blaine's sitting with them now and by the way they keep glancing over here, he wouldn't be surprised if they were talking about him.

Mercedes nudges Kurt with her elbow and he realizes it's because he's been staring at the three of them for quite some time now. "So you and Blaine are still fighting I gather?" she asks with a frown.

Kurt shrugs his shoulders and looks anywhere but at her. "I don't know. We're not fighting so much as… just not as close as we use to be." There. That wasn't a lie.

She hums in disbelief and says, "Yeah, right. There's something you're not telling me because there's no way some 'silly argument' could cause this kind of riff between you two."

"Fine," Kurt hisses, "I'll tell you tonight. You, Rachel, and I are having a sleepover."

Looking extremely pleased with herself, Mercedes gives him a little pat on the arm before turning to stare longingly at Sam. Kurt rolls his eyes and huffs in annoyance but she doesn't notice. For some reason unbeknownst to Kurt, she refuses to date Sam even though he's obviously pursuing her. But every time he brings it up, Mercedes clams up and won't talk to him so honestly he's given up.

"Sorry I'm late everybody," Mr. Schue says as he breezes into the choir room. "I was just doing some planning with the fiancée." His grin when he says the last word is so huge it borders on maniacal in Kurt's opinion but many of the girls _awwww _loudly. Kurt admits that recent events might taint his outlook on romance at the moment. Even so, he's never really thought Mr. Schue and Mrs. Pillsbury were that great of a couple. They always seemed to be fighting, and he really didn't think getting married would offer any solutions. "I wanted to thank everyone again for helping out with the proposal yesterday, you guys did amazing! Now I want to open the floor up to Blaine and Mike who have prepared a song for us."

"Hey everybody!" Blaine exclaims cheerily as he jumps down from his seat and walks to the center of the room. Kurt watches as Blaine transforms from his normal self to the performing one. His smile brightens, his shoulders get thrown back, and his eyes practically sparkle which makes it increasingly difficult to look away. Or maybe that's just him. "We prepared this song just because it's a lot of fun and we hope you can all enjoy it with us. I'll be singing and Mike here will be performing some of his awesome dance moves." Mike spins around and does a little tap dance at the comment. Blaine laughs and then signals at Brad to start playing.

Kurt can't help but be a little upset by how unaffected Blaine seems by their breakup. While Kurt's been moody and upset all week, Blaine's found the time and energy to plan out this whole performance. For a second, Kurt wonders if Blaine made up everything just so he had an excuse to break up with him, but he immediately scolds himself. As if Blaine's face that afternoon wasn't enough to convince him, Kurt knows Blaine would never lie about something like that. He's always been very good at acting like he's fine when he's not, and Kurt selfishly hopes this is another one of those times.

When the music starts, Kurt smiles in spite of himself because _really, Last Friday Night?_ People seemed wary at first when Blaine mentioned this was a fun song but before the first verse is over, more than half the class is on their feet and dancing. Kurt is not among them and when Blaine notices, he starts beckoning to him. Pretending not to see him, Kurt turns and catches Tina's eye who also waves him over. Sighing, Kurt stands and allows Tina to hook his arm in hers and they begin to skip around in a circle. Kurt barks out a wild laugh and lets his reservations go, dancing rather crazily with Tina for the rest of the song. Loud applause follows the end of the number and everyone returns to their chairs slightly out of breath and wearing a bit more color in their cheeks.

* * *

Sleeping over at Rachel's is a comforting experience. Junk food, cliché romantic comedies, and being with his two girls is something he needs more of in his life. The calm doesn't last long though; not ten minutes into 27 dresses and Mercedes starts the questioning.

"So honestly, what's been up with you lately? You promised to tell."

"Well actually," Kurt deflects, turning to Rachel, "Rachel said she had something she wanted to talk about with us."

"No, you first," Rachel insists quickly.

Kurt hesitates but then relents with a sigh. These are his two best friends; if he can tell anyone, it's them. "Blaine and I, we had a thing," he says.

"A thing?" Mercedes asks with raised eyebrows.

"We were dating, but in secret," he admits quietly.

Both of them gasp and Rachel asks, her voice raised, "Why in secret?"

"The jocks at school were bothering us a lot so we thought it better to just keep the whole thing quiet." He leaves out the main reason, Blaine's reason, because it's not his place to tell. Rachel and Mercedes wear equally hurt looks at not being told and his anger flares up. "Hey, don't give me that look. You guys don't have to walk the school hallways everyday in fear being physically assaulted. We were just doing what we had to."

Mercedes looks chastened but says, "I just wish you would have told us."

"I know," Kurt says quietly, his anger dissipating as quickly as it had come.

"But you two broke up," Mercedes guesses. Kurt nods.

"Why?" Rachel asks. She shifts to face Kurt and in the process, she sits on the remote and turns off the TV but nobody notices.

"It's complicated…" Kurt trails off, picking at his pajama pants absentmindedly. "We had different ideas of where our relationship should go from here on out."

The girls look slightly confused and Kurt knows he's being vague but they don't ask him to clarify. Instead Mercedes asks, "Do you think there's any hope of you two getting back together?"

Kurt lets out a strangled laugh and shakes his head. "I honestly don't know." He looks at the two of them and is surprised to see they both look devastated. "What? He and I broke up, not you two," he jokes half heartedly. "Why are you so upset?"

Mercedes takes a deep breath and says, "Kurt, this year, since Blaine's arrived, I've never seen you happier. Even without knowing you guys were dating, I could tell he was special to you. We're your friends Kurt and whatever makes you happy makes us happy, and vice versa." Rachel nods vigorously in agreement, and Kurt feels his eyes begin to water.

"Thanks guys," he says, sniffling slightly. Rachel then pulls both of them into a tight hug, and Kurt smiles through it, only protesting a little. "Wow, it's a good thing are periods aren't until next week or we'd really be in trouble," Kurt says and the girls giggle loudly.

Kurt takes a few deep breaths and wipes his eyes one last time before directing his attention to Rachel. "Okay girl, spill."

Rachel bites her lip, a nervous habit Kurt's noticed, and says, "Well I kind of have the opposite problem from what you have." The gears in Kurt's mind turns as he tries to make sense of what Rachel said and he gets it right before she says, "Finn proposed."

Kurt whips around to his right and sees a mirrored look of horror on Mercedes' face. "Please dear god tell me you said no," Kurt begs.

Rachel shakes her head. Mercedes' hand flies up to cover he mouth. "You said yes?" she whispers.

Rachel shakes her head again and responds, "I haven't answered yet."

Kurt lets out a sigh of relief and says, "Good. You are going to go to him first thing tomorrow morning and tell him no."

"But I love him. Isn't that enough?" Rachel asks desperately.

"If you guys really love each other, which I believe you do," Mercedes adds at Rachel's glare, "then there's no need to rush things. There's all the time in the world to get married, at least wait until you're out of high school."

"Is he even coming to New York with us next year?" Kurt asks, although it sounds more like an accusation than a question.

"Yes," Rachel says defiantly although her facial expression wavers after a second. "At least that's what he says. I don't know, sometimes it seems like he's just saying that to make me happy and it's not what he actually wants."

Kurt fights back a groan because this lack of communication is a constant in Rachel's relationship with Finn. "Then I agree with Mercedes. If your relationship is meant to last it will, ring or not. An engagement is only going to make your life more stressful. The pending marriage will be hanging over your head and just think of how your dads will react."

Rachel waits in silence for a moment after Kurt finishes before nodding slowly. "Yeah, you're right. I'm going to say no. For now," she adds.

Kurt flops backwards onto the pillows and lets out the breath he was holding. "Crisis averted," he mumbles so only Mercedes can hear and she laughs.

"But I'm going to marry him someday." Kurt glances over and she looks so earnest that he can't help but tease.

"Yeah yeah, you've been saying that since freshman year," he says with a smile.

* * *

When Kurt walks into his house he notices right away that something is off. Burt is sitting in his favorite chair, the worn lazy boy that faces the TV, but the TV is off and he's just staring into space.

"…Dad?"

Burt blinks a few times and looks up at Kurt as if he just woke from a daze. "Oh good you're home. I've been wanting to talk to you about something." At Kurt's nod, he continues, "What do you think of Sally?"

Kurt frowns and drops his bag onto the ground. "What do you mean? You know I think she's great."

"I mean," Burt starts, and Kurt swears he sees a little bit of color on his cheeks, "what would you think of accepting her into the family?"

Kurt's lips form a small "o" of surprise and he claps his hands together in excitement. "I think that's great dad! Can I plan your wedding? Pretty, pretty please?" he begs.

Burt rises from the chair laughing and says, "I was hoping you would. But this is going to be a small wedding, mind you. We both agreed we already had a lavish occasion the first time and this would just be a small ceremony for our friends."

Realization dawns and Kurt asks, "You've already asked her? And she said yes?" At Burt's confirmation Kurt's grin gets even larger and he does a little dance. "This is so exciting. I'm really happy for you, dad."

Burt smiles at him and tugs him to his chest. "Thanks bud," he says into his hair. "I know she can't replace your mom, but I'm so happy you'll let her into our life. Along with Blaine and Maria." Kurt's body stiffens at the mention of Blaine, and Kurt hopes his dad doesn't notice. "God, it's going to be weird having a little kid around again," Burt comments as he pulls away.

Kurt hums in agreement but he's already far gone, his mind going a mile a minute with wedding plans.

"Sally and I are going to go out and celebrate tonight so you'll have to get dinner on your own okay?"

Kurt nods and then retreats upstairs while wondering if he still has those wedding magazines stored under his bed.

* * *

**So everybody, Glee last week, what did you think?! I personally really liked the episode, even with the lack of boy on boy action. It just feels so good to have Glee back!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys, just a psa, there is going to be 4 more chapters of this and then an epilogue. Thanks again for all your support, your reviews make me smile :)**

* * *

"No _February _4th," Kurt emphasizes through gritted teeth. "Yes I realize that is three weeks away." He pauses and fights the urge to scream at the condescending tone of the woman on the line. "I know you're busy," Kurt responds, unable to keep the agitation out of this voice. "I just need to know, can you do it or not?" He waits for an answer and sighs in relief when he gets one. "Thanks, that's perfect, I'll come by the shop tomorrow."

Kurt hangs up the phone and pulls the worn paper from his pocket to cross "cake" off his list. He's already planned the music, the Glee club at his dad's insistence, and the catering, Breakstix. The idea still makes him shudder, but it was the only restaurant in the area willing to do it on such short notice. Flowers were a no-go because Sally is allergic to almost all of them, so the decorations are limited to strung lights and little lanterns to sit on the tables. Kurt had wanted doves, but Sally shot him down. Since it's winter, the wedding must be indoors, but Sally wants a minimalistic and natural feel to it. The only other thing to do was get the clothing; the part Kurt is most looking forward to.

Closing his eyes, Kurt tries to put everything together so he can get the gist of what the wedding will be like. The venue is a huge historic house down the street from them, and it's going to hold both parts of the wedding. The ceremony will be upstairs in a small living room (that will be cleared out of course) and the reception will be on the main floor in a ballroom type area. It's not what Kurt would have chosen but like his dad keeps reminding him, it's not his wedding.

"Come on Kurt, you're going to be late for school!" Burt calls up to him.

Kurt looks at the clock before grabbing his things and hurrying out the door. The day passes with him following his new routine, which is like his old routine except sans Blaine. The two of them aren't talking at Kurt's request that Blaine give him space. Kurt hopes then can be friends one day but right now, just seeing his face makes his stomach twist and his chest ache. Therefore, he's surprised when Blaine seeks him out after lunch.

"I know you wanted some space, but we really need to work on our bottle rocket project." Blaine has been doing a good job of appearing normal, but Kurt can hear the sadness in his voice. He definitely isn't as unaffected as Kurt originally thought.

Kurt nods and says, "Okay, when's it due?" He maintains eye contact with Blaine as not to be rude but keeps a straight face, determined to keep this completely formal.

"Monday."

Kurt sucks in a breath and his eyes widen. He knew he had been avoiding this project, but he didn't realize for how long. "Then we're doing it this weekend I guess. How do you want to do this? We'll have to go out and get the materials first… where do you suggest we go?"

"Uh actually, I already got them," Blaine admits. "I just… you didn't seem to want to talk to me, but I wanted to get started. But if you don't like them we can always get other stuff, I really don't care," he assures him.

"No that's fine. Thank you," Kurt adds with a small smile. He should at least make an attempt at friendship because honestly, having Blaine as a friend is better than not having him at all. Plus, they're going to be stepbrothers in just a few weeks so he better get used to being around him.

"Great," Blaine says, returning the smile. "You can come over to work on it since all the stuff is at my house."

Kurt agrees and then they stand there in strained silence, neither quite sure what to do. "So…" Blaine starts but whatever he was going to say gets cut off by the bell. Pretending he hadn't heard him, Kurt shoots Blaine one last forced smile before turning away and heading to class.

* * *

Saturday comes too soon, in Kurt's opinion. He finally makes it to the Anderson's stoop ten minutes after he was supposed to arrive. He rings the doorbell and hears Sally's shout from inside that the door's open. Taking one last deep breath, he turns the knob and walks into the house.

"Hey Kurt! It's nice to see you," Sally says as she pulls him into a quick hug. "Haven't seen you around here in a while."

"I've just been busy I guess," Kurt responds, fiddling with a button on his coat. Changing the subject, he asks, "So how's the dress hunt going?"

"I found the one today!" she exclaims, eyes lighting up. "I'm going to pick it tomorrow so we can have the fittings sometime this week. Now enough stalling, Blaine says you guys have left your entire physics project to be done today," she scolds.

"It's shouldn't take too long," he assures her, and himself, before moving towards the staircase.

Sally shakes her head at him and points to the garage door. "He's in there."

As Kurt approaches, he notices the door is slightly open and he peers inside. Blaine, clad in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, is leaning on a small table and reading over what must be the project instructions. He shakes his head which make his ungelled curls bounce and sticks out his tongue slightly in concentration. Clearing his throat, Kurt pushes the door open to announce his presence.

"Kurt, hey!" he greets loudly. "Come on over here and take a look at this."

Blaine spends the next few minutes explaining the project and steps they need to take in order to build the rocket in simple terms. Kurt tries to focus on what's he's saying rather than the way Blaine's shirt rides up when he talks with his hands but isn't too successful.

"Got it?" Blaine asks when he's done.

Kurt hums and nods his head even though there's still a lot he's unsure about. Physics is definitely not his subject. His job is to cut the top and bottom off a two liter bottle of coke so they can use it as the body of the rocket while Blaine is busy sawing the fins.

"Are you even affected by all this?" Kurt blurts out and then immediately regrets it. He must have been possessed there for a second because there's no way he would have asked that question in his right mind.

"What?" Blaine asks, putting the tool down and turning to look at him.

"Nothing," Kurt mumbles and goes back to cutting the bottle as if it's the most important task he's ever been given.

"No don't be like that," Blaine says, taking a step closer. "What did you mean?"

Kurt reluctantly drops the bottle and says, without making eye contact, "You just… you seem so unaffected by our whole breakup. It's like, did it even mean anything to you?"

"Oh Kurt, of course it did. You made me happier than I've ever been," he says softly. "As for why I _seem _unaffected, because trust me I'm not, I don't know. I guess I always knew-"

"Always knew what?" Kurt interrupts, his tone going cold. "That you were going to break up with me?"

"No, no of course not!" The panic is clear in Blaine's eyes, and Kurt does nothing to placate him. "I mean- well I just- I always _hoped _that- but-" he stammers until Kurt cuts him off again.

"You did, didn't you," he accuses. "You always planned to break up with me. Every time we kissed, you were probably thinking about how you were going to end it." Kurt knows somewhere deep down, that he's being irrational but it's easily ignorable. If he can make Blaine the bad guy, if he can find some way to hate him, then maybe getting over him won't be so hard.

"Kurt, no please, you have to believe me, it wasn't like that," Blaine pleads. He's on the verge of tears and is trying desperately to get Kurt to look at him.

"I can't- I have to go," Kurt says and he stands up to leave.

"Wait no!" Blaine calls after him, but Kurt is already out of the garage and on his way to the front door.

_What the hell did I just do? _Kurt thinks as he drives home. Ignoring Burt's inquires about being home so soon, Kurt spends the rest of the day in his room lying face down on his bed. When evening rolls around, he realizes they still have to do their project so he picks up his phone and, after writing and rewriting multiple texts, he sends this:

_Hi Blaine, I realize we still need to work on our project so I will come by tomorrow afternoon to help finish it._

He didn't apologize because he's still not sorry. Yes, he went a little overboard, but Blaine knew from the beginning their relationship wasn't going to work, that he was going to hurt him, but he still went for it. That's way worse than the little bit of yelling Kurt did. The response from Blaine comes within minutes.

_Kurt I am so, so sorry for what happened today. It was all a big misunderstanding. I already finished the rocket but if you want to come by tomorrow and look at it or change anything feel free to. In fact, I'd really like it if you did._

Kurt bites his lip as he reads the text. The rocket is a huge part of their grade but it's not like he knows that much about physics anyways. Blaine was always going to be the brains behind the project. Plus, not going has the advantage of not having to see Blaine. At least he thinks that's an advantage, although the slight feeling of disappointment in his chest says otherwise. Eventually, he decides against going.

_Thanks for finishing it, that was really nice of you, but I don't think I'm going to have time to come by. Still lots of wedding planning to do. Thanks again._

_Oh, that's fine, I'll see you on Monday then!_

Kurt's phone buzzes with the message before he's had a chance to set it down and after reading it, and trying to decide on a reply, he just throws the phone down without sending anything. Despite it being early and a Saturday night, Kurt shuts off his light and crawls into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

The bottle rocket project ended up going fine; they came in second place and both received As. Kurt still feels slightly guilty about it, but Blaine did all he could to assure him it was fine. He also took the time to try and convince Kurt it was a misunderstanding but Kurt wouldn't listen.

"Kurt, about what you thought I was going to say," Blaine had started, but Kurt stopped him there.

"Blaine, it's fine, you don't have to explain anything to me. You don't owe anything to me," Kurt had responded.

Blaine had continued to try and get Kurt to listen but was unsuccessful. When Kurt wasn't in the mood to listen, it just didn't happen. Anyone who knows him knows he has a stubborn streak a mile long.

Now, he's standing in the Anderson's foyer and pretending to text someone so he doesn't feel so awkward. Having gotten his and his dad's suit the day earlier, the two of them were over to get alterations. Instead of taking them to a professional place, Sally decided she would just do the alterations herself considering the wedding party only consists of five; Kurt as best man, Hillary, Sally's best friend, as the maid of honor, Maria as flower girl, and then Sally and Burt as the bride and groom of course. And then there was Blaine, who although wasn't technically part of the ceremony, needed help too. The workload seems a bit much for Sally to handle on her own, so Kurt's planning on offering to help out.

Sally finally comes out from her room and waves at the two of them to come up. Kurt's never been in her room before, but he guesses the absolute mess of clothes and sewing materials strewn around isn't normal.

"Wait no, go back!" Sally squeals, shoving Burt out the door before he can fully step inside. She then ducks back in, quickly moves something into the closet, and rushes back to a stunned Burt.

"Alright you can come in now," she says with a smile.

"What the-"

"Wedding dress," Kurt interrupts. "She didn't want you to see it."

Kurt's eye is immediately taken by the longer and skinnier suit he knows is his and he walks over to it, fingering the material lightly. It fit almost perfectly but the sleeves needed to be shortened and the waist brought in a bit.

"I can handle the alterations to my suit on my own," Kurt directs at Sally.

"Really?" she asks, her shoulders sagging and a smile lighting her face, "that'd be great." Biting her lip, she asks hesitantly, "Could you maybe help Blaine with his too? It's not much work, but I'm already swamped with Hilary's and Burt's stuff…"

Kurt groans internally. The last thing he needs right now is to spend time with Blaine, alone, where he will have to get up close and personal, and where clothing will be shed. But the look on Sally's face is all the convincing he needs, and he finds himself nodding a second later.

He works agonizingly slow on his own suit to stall time but there just isn't enough work to be done to stretch it that far. The markers were already in so all he had to do with the sewing. When he finishes he walks over to Sally to find out where Blaine is.

"In his room, I guess," Sally says without looking up from Burt's suit, but a second later she frowns. "Actually, I'm surprised he hasn't come out. He could have been keeping you company."

Kurt shrugs in response, thankful that all the craziness keeps her from pushing the subject, and takes Blaine's suit carefully in his arms before walking down the hall. Pausing as he gets to the door, he lifts his hand and holds it up for a few seconds before getting the courage to knock loudly twice.

"Come in," calls a muffled voice through the door.

Kurt slowly opens the door and sticks his head in cautiously. "Blaine?"

Blaine, who was sitting at his desk, spins around wildly and jumps to his feet. "Oh, hey, wow I wasn't expecting you. I mean, I knew you were here of course but-" he cuts himself off and his eyes meet Kurt's with a hopeful expression.

"Uh, your mom asked me to help tailor your suit…" Kurt trails off stepping a little more into the room.

Blaine's expressions falls, but the smile is quickly back, only now it's fake. "Right, yeah of course. Let's get this over with so you can get out of here." He tries for a self-deprecating smile, but Kurt doesn't miss the hurt on his face. And he feels bad about it. His intention wasn't to hurt Blaine, it never is.

Unable to come up with a response, he settles for handing Blaine the suit and saying, "Here, put this on."

After hanging the suit on the closet door, Blaine grabs the hem of the sweater he's wearing and pulls it up over his head. For one heart stopping moment, Kurt thinks he isn't wearing anything underneath but then Blaine tugs down the plain white t-shirt that had gotten caught up in the cardigan. Once his head is free, Blaine looks up at Kurt and his face colors. "Oh, god, Kurt I'm so sorry," he stammers, eyes wide. "That was so inappropriate of me, I'll just go to the bathroom to change."

Still trying to collect himself, Kurt manages to wave him off. "No, no it's fine. I'll just turn around while you, uh, yeah." Not stopping to see Blaine's reaction, he turns to face the other way and puts his hand over his eyes for good measure. This is ridiculous. He should not be this worked up by a little skin. He sees guys shirtless all the time. He's seen _Taylor Lautner _shirtless so really, this is nothing. Closing his eyes tighter, he tries to conjure up that image to rid his mind of the other but it backfires; all he can see is Blaine.

"Ahem," comes a small cough. "I'm finished."

Kurt turns to find Blaine tugging at the sleeves of his tux and shuffling his feet, not meeting his gaze. "It looks good. Fit-wise I mean," he amends quickly. _And otherwise_ that annoying voice in his head chimes in.

Blaine nods, "The jacket is fine. It's the pants that need some work."

Taking his time, Kurt slowly walks around Blaine so he can see the pants from all angles. Yes, that's why he did it, it definitely wasn't so he could check it his ass. "The waist needs to be taken in. You have such a tiny waist," he adds, a smirk lighting his face.

"I'm surprised you didn't make a short joke," Blaine teases back.

"Too obvious," Kurt scoffs. "We are going to need to shorten the legs though." Blaine's fake smile has been replaced by a genuine one, and it makes Kurt's heart swell. Maybe he could manage to be friends with Blaine after all. Even with the debacle over the weekend, that still sends a pang through his chest when he thinks about it, he doesn't want to be without Blaine in his life.

"Alright so do I take it off now?" Blaine asks. His head is tilted to the side in the most adorable way and Kurt bites his lip to keep from "aww"-ing.

"What? No," Kurt says laughing. "You really don't know anything about this do you? I'm going to need to stick some pins in the pants so I know where to sew." Deciding to start with the legs, Kurt bends down and grabs a handful of fabric. Pulling it up so the hem reaches just at his feet, he asks, "Is this good?" Blaine nods so Kurt sticks the pin in and does the same for the other.

"That was easy," Blaine comments as Kurt stands back up.

"That wasn't really the part that involves any work," Kurt reminds him. He takes a step closer, so close that he can smell Blaine cologne, and minty breath, and manly scent that's just distinctly _him._ He starts to lean down but the angle is extremely awkward. "I um," Kurt starts, willing himself to just spit it out, "It'll be easier if I just get down on my knees."

When he drops to his knees, Blaine waist is level with his head, and he looks up at him. Blaine was looking at him but as soon as he meets Kurt's eyes he looks away, his cheeks looking pinker than usual. It's not lost on either of them what this position insinuates, and Kurt wills his hands to stop shaking so he can start working. He pinches the waistband in a little on each side so it fits more snugly around Blaine's hips. "Is this good?" Kurt asks, his voice breathy.

Blaine nods his head jerkily but offers no verbal response. He drops one side of the pants so he can fasten the other, his hand gently brushing Blaine's hip bone. Blaine shudders at the touch and murmurs an apology. Kurt doesn't envy Blaine in this moment; he's not sure he would be holding up as well. Finally the job is done and Kurt hastily gets to his feet, wiping his hands on his pants as he does.

"You can take it off now, just be careful not to shift the pins." Blaine nods and Kurt hesitates, unsure of what to do. "I guess I'll just go into the other room and you can bring it to me there."

"Okay," Blaine says, still not looking at Kurt. Just before reaching the door, Kurt glances over his shoulder one last time and sees Blaine, his eyes closed, murmuring to himself. Chuckling slightly, he walks out into the hallway. Once there, he pauses for a second and takes a couple deep breathes. His life is going to be fraught with sexual tension from now on isn't it?


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! This chapter, unfortunately, is unbeta'd due to some scheduling issues (but we're going to forgive her because she's awesome and working at the Obama campaign right now). I'll be posting the beta'd version tomorrow but nothing much will change except from some grammatical errors I'm sure I've made.**

**I wish I could tell you this was a fluffy chapter due to the shit storm that will be tomorrow's episode (I won't mention anything more specific than that in case you've somehow avoided the abundance of spoilers) but it's not. So yup, I hope you like it anyway! **

* * *

Kurt stares at the blank ceiling and tries to clear his mind. The wedding is in less than twenty-four hours and if he wants to look at all presentable tomorrow he's going to need some sleep. No matter how many times he goes over the schedule in an attempt to reassure himself that he has plenty of time, he doesn't believe it. He must have dozed off at some point though because suddenly he is blinking awake and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He has an initial moment of panic, afraid that he overslept, but one look out his dark window quells that. Slipping out of bed he tip toes down the hall and peaks in Burt's bedroom. He's still sleeping, as confirmed by his snores, so Kurt leaves him be.

Despite the earliness of the hour and the fact that Burt probably won't be up for hours, Kurt starts in on breakfast. He needs something to distract him. About an hour later the table is holding a beautiful spread of scrambled eggs, toast, hash browns, bacon, and fresh fruit. Kurt sighs, realizing all of this will be cold by the time his dad comes down, when a noise to his left startles him.

"Hey kiddo," Burt mumbles, his eyes still half closed. "Huh? What's all this?" he asks, looking more awake by the second.

"Breakfast!" Kurt says cheerily.

"Bacon?" Burt asks skeptically. He looks around the room as if he's on one of those secret camera shows and is waiting for everyone to pop out.

"It's a special occasion. But don't get use to it," he warns. Sitting down, he begins to pile his plate with food and motions for Burt to do the same. "Come on, let's eat before it gets cold. Besides, there's a lot to do today. Do you remember the plan?"

"Course I do, you've only reminded me about a hundred times," he says through a mouthful of eggs.

Kurt shrugs, "It doesn't hurt to be prepared."

As he eats, Kurt repeats his schedule to himself again, it having become a sort of chant. At eight he is going to pick up the cake and drive it to the Ryder Home where it will sit in the fridge until the reception. Then at ten everyone is meeting at the Anderson's home to do a last minute fitting. It shouldn't take long considering they all just bought the clothes a few weeks ago but Kurt left himself extra time just in case. Rehearsal with the Glee club for the wedding starts at noon and will last until around three. They haven't practiced at the actual venue yet so Kurt is a little worried but their dance routines aren't too extensive and they aren't doing that many numbers. Sally wants to make sure he and Blaine have a chance to enjoy the wedding so she opted to create a playlist which will be used most of the time. The only other thing Kurt has to do after that is get dressed and ready for the ceremony which starts at five. The caterers are coming at that time too so he can't oversee the actual delivery of the food which is another thing that stresses him out. There's nothing he can do about it, however, so he just tries not to dwell on it.

"Hello? Is there anybody there?" Burt's voice cuts through Kurt's thoughts and snaps his head up to look at him.

"What? Sorry I was lost in thought."

"I can see that," Burt chuckles but then he turns serious. "I hope you're not stressing too much about today. We only need one person with a heart condition in this family."

Kurt smiles at that and continues to eat his breakfast.

* * *

Getting the cake was rather uneventful but the drive took Kurt a little longer than he anticipated so he arrives at the Anderson's a little late.

"Hey come on in," Sally says as she ushers him inside. Kurt shivers and steps inside quickly; the temperature of the house is much preferable to harsh Ohio winter. "Everyone's already here and has been fitted. I think we're all a little bit antsy to get the day moving," she says, leading him upstairs.

After handing him his suit, Kurt enters the bathroom so he can change. The suit fits perfectly, as expected, so he changes back into his normal clothes and goes off to find Sally. As he walks down the hall he passes Blaine's room and slows down a little. The door is closed but he can hear the faint sound of a guitar being strummed from inside.

"You planning on going in there?" a raspy voice from behind Kurt asks. He turns to find Irene standing at the end of the hallway with a smirk on her face. "Because if you are that's fine but I don't want any funny business. There's no time for that today."

"I wasn't- I um- no see I was just," Kurt stammers his face heating up. He lifts his suit up and shakes it slightly saying, "I was just getting this. But now I'm leaving," he finishes lamely.

"Alright," she hums in disbelief before opening the door to what must be the guest room.

When it closes Kurt lets out a sigh of relief. Over the last couple weeks Kurt has hardly seen Blaine outside of school. Their interactions have been friendlier, though, and no longer is Kurt ignoring or avoiding him so that's a step in the right direction. Kurt won't lie to himself and say he isn't still hoping he and Blaine will get back together, but the chances don't look so good now. If Blaine thought it was weird before, to be dating when their parents were, then how's he going to feel when they're step brothers? Kurt can't help but smile a bit at the thought because _wow, _his life is kind of like a soap opera. It quickly fades though because he knows this won't have a soap opera ending. This is real life, and in real life things don't go Kurt Hummel's way.

* * *

Finn's stomach growls loudly for a third time and Kurt turns to glare at him.

"What?" he asks defensively, crossing his arms. "We've been at this for _hours_."

Kurt rolls his eyes and glances towards Mr. Schue who is still on the phone with Mrs. Pillsbury. Eventually he does get off it Kurt's lips quirk when he hears Santana let out a loud sigh and say "finally".

"Sorry about that guys," Mr. Schue says in is ever cheerful voice, "let's run through this one more time and then you'll be free to go."

Everyone cheers up at the notion that this will be the last run though and move to their places eagerly. Kurt is actually pretty impressed, and very grateful, for how quickly the Glee club managed to pull this medley together. After they finish the last song people hurry to grab their stuff and walk out but Kurt stops them.

"Hold up everyone," he says as he moves to stand in front of them. "It will just be a second," he snaps as a couple people groan. "I just wanted to remind everyone that the ceremony starts at five which means everyone needs to be in their seats at four forty-five." Kurt looks around the room being sure to make eye contact with everyone. There will be no stragglers at this wedding. "Also," he starts, his voice softening, "thanks for this. You're really going to make our parents day special." He motions to Blaine during the last bit and he echoes Kurt's thanks.

After thanking Mr. Schue personally Kurt books it out of there. He still has to shower and change and he has less than two hours to do so. Forgoing his normal shower routine he's in and out in ten minutes flat, a new record. Doing his hair is a tedious process, and he only has about forty-five minutes left, but Kurt is extremely pleased with the near perfect pompadour look he manages.

Before getting on his suit Kurt decides he should go check on his dad. He finds the door to his room cracked but he still knocks prior to entering. "Dad?" he calls when he doesn't see him in the main room.

"Oh hey," he responds, coming out of the bathroom.

"You ready?"

"Do I look ready?" Burt asks, twirling around once.

Kurt walks over and adjusts one his lapels even though it doesn't really need it. "You look great." Kurt's smile is so big it stretches his cheeks and Burt's matches his. They stand there just grinning at each other for a few seconds before Burt looks away, shaking his head but still beaming. "Go get your suit on, I wouldn't want to be late to my own wedding."

Skipping back to his room, Kurt takes the tux from his closet and puts it in. It's plain, plainer than almost anything else he owns, but he likes it. It's simple and sleek, something he admits he should put more of in his wardrobe. Touching up his hair one last time, he exits his room and almost collides with Burt.

"Whoa there!" his dad exclaims, putting his hands on Kurt's shoulders to steady him. "I was just coming to get you."

"We have plenty of time," Kurt counters as he checks his phone.

"I know I just don't want to be late," Burt admits gruffly.

Kurt laughs but decides he really doesn't need to go check his hair in the bathroom one more time. "Fine, we can go now. If you're this nervous your second time I can't imagine what the first was like." After saying it Kurt stiffens, shocked that he actually said that. Keeping his back to his dad, he starts walking downstairs as he waits for a response.

"Oh I was," Burt says, the smile evident in his voice. Kurt glances over his shoulder at meets his dad eyes. Burt reaches out and puts a hand on his shoulder, turning him so they're facing each other. "Look kiddo, I know this is probably pretty weird, seeing your old man get married, but I doesn't mean I love your mom any less."

Kurt nods and says, "I know dad. And I'm happy for you, I really am."

Burt smiles and lists a hand to ruffle his hair but Kurt quickly backs away, his eyes wide with horror. "Do you know how long this hairdo took?" Kurt asks, his eyes still not back to their normal side. "I thought we broke that nasty habit a long time ago."

"Can't teach an old dog new tricks," he says with a shrug before nudging Kurt in the direction of the front door.

* * *

Kurt stands next to his father and scans the room for familiar faces. He sees most of his friends clumped together in the back left corner along with Blaine's friends, Nick and Jeff. Seeing their faces remind Kurt of Halloween and he desperately hopes the alcohol is closely monitored. Blaine is sitting in the front row by himself for now but Maria and Irene will join him soon.

Just then the organ comes to life and everyone in the room stops whispering. Hilary and her husband begin walking down the aisle and Kurt fidgets slightly in anticipation. Once Hilary's standing off to the side opposite Kurt and her husband's sat down, Maria enters. She must have forgotten Kurt's advice about keep her head up and a smile on her face because her whole attention is on the flower basket she's holding and her tongue is stuck out in concentration. After dumping the leftover flowers she has in a big pile at the end of the aisle, causing a few laughs, she moves to sit next to Blaine. He gives her a not so subtle thumbs-up which she happily returns.

The music shifts into the traditional wedding song and everyone in the room turns to looks towards the door. Kurt, however, opts to watch his father. His face, the way his eyes soften and smile grows until he's practically glowing, isn't something he wants to miss. Once he's seen that he faces forward towards Sally who looks absolutely stunning. The dress is strapless and is tight all the way down until the ankles where poofs out. Her dark hair his piled on her head in a loose but not messy bun which reveals a pair of dark gold hoop earrings. She kisses Irene on the cheek before extracting her arm from hers and walking up to the altar. The rest of the ceremony passes quickly in Kurt's opinion and before long they're onto the ring exchanges and vows.

"You may now kiss the bride," the minister finishes and the both lean forward to exchange a chaste kiss. Cheers and claps echo throughout the room and Kurt moves over to give his dad a hug.

"Congratulations," he says softly as Burt hugs him tight. He congratulates Sally as well but excuses himself as soon as he can and hurries downstairs to the reception area. A few guests are milling around but most are still chatting in the ceremony room. It's not hard to spot the manager, a middle aged woman with a clipboard, and Kurt speeds toward her. "Any problems?" he asks.

"Nope, we're all set! Buffet tables over there," she says pointing to her left, "the bar's in the back, and non alcoholic drinks will be served by the waiters." She motions to a few people in suits who are busy putting the finishing touches on the tables.

Kurt originally thought the strung lights would look tacky, and would make it hard to see, but they light up the room nicely and they're really quite cute. As people start to file into the room Kurt goes to meet them and help direct them to their seats. The wedding is small enough that it doesn't take too long for everyone to be settled and ordering drinks. After the last few people are seated, Kurt goes over to the front of the room where they've blocked off a stage area. The rest of the Glee club is already there and awaiting their queue to start singing. Kurt nods at Mr. Schue, who had to take over the job of playing piano because Brad's out of town, and he starts playing.

_It's a beautiful night,  
We're looking for something dumb to do.  
Hey baby,  
I think I wanna marry you._

_Is it the look in your eyes,_  
_Or is it this dancing juice?_  
_Who cares baby,_  
_I think I wanna marry you._

Kurt personally thinks Quinn and Sam should have sung the whole song but at Rachel's insistence Mr. Schue let multiple couples have a part. It still sounds really good and the guests obviously loved it judging by the loud applause that follows. After taking their bows, everyone goes back to their shared table except for Kurt and Blaine who go to sit with their parents.

"That sounded wonderful," Sally says earnestly as they arrive.

"Thanks!" Kurt and Blaine utter at the same time and they glance at each other but quickly look away. Before anyone can say anything else a waiter comes by and tells them they can go over to the buffet. To avoid long lines only a certain number of people are allowed to get food at a time. Once they return with their food conversation flows easily.

"So Sally, where are you going on your honey moon again?" Bill, Hilary's husband, asks.

"Florida," she says, sharing a smile with Burt.

"I still think it should be a family trip," Maria pouts.

"But then you would miss all the fun you'll have with dear old granny," Irene says causing everyone to laugh.

Without thinking about it, Kurt looks across the table at Blaine and quirks an eyebrow.

"She's staying us while our mom is gone," he explains.

"But don't worry," Burt cuts in, "she'll be checking on you too Kurt."

"Dad," he sighs, "I'm eighteen now. I think I can handle being home alone for a week."

Burt barks out a laugh in response and just shakes his head. The rest of the meal continues similarly, with lots of banter and high spirits. With the room being loud and Blaine not sitting very near him, Kurt hardly talks to him at all. But when things start winding down, Kurt catches Blaine attention and motions towards the stage area. Nodding, Blaine stands up and Kurt follows. When the rest of their friends notice, they too get up from their seats. As everyone huddles up and exchanges last minute reminders, Kurt steps off to the side and meets his dad's eyes.

Burt nods and stands up, clearing his throat loudly. The conversation around the room stops as they swivel in their seats to looks at him. "Well, anyone who knows me knows I don't like speeches so I'm going to keep this short. I want to thank everyone for coming and helping us celebrate today. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how I got someone as wonderful as Sally to marry me." This pulls a couple chuckles from around this room and a light slap on the arm from Sally. "But anyways, I'm excited to start this new chapter of my life with the addition of not only Sally but also Maria and Blaine. So I propose a toast, to the Hummel-Anderson's."

"To the Hummel-Anderson's," the room at large echoes as they raise their glasses.

"Now I want to turn it over to tonight's entertainment, the McKinley High Glee club."

Mr. Schue has begun the countdown and they're about to start singing when suddenly, "Nude erections!" someone shouts from the back of the room.

Kurt whips his head around and spots Nick and Jeff laughing hysterically at their table. "Go New Directions! Whoo! You guys rock! We love New Directions!" Jeff yells while Nick whistles loudly. Kurt realizes this time around that they are say _New Directions _not _nude erections _but most of the guests still seem confused and scandalized.

"Yes that's us," Kurt says into the microphone. "Our club's name is the New… Directions." He elongates the pause in between the two and hopes that will erase the confusion. Kurt sends Blaine a dirty look as he walks back to his spot but Blaine just shrugs his shoulders, looking half embarrassed and half amused. Mr. Schue starts the countdown again and this time there aren't any interruptions.

_There's a calm surrender to the rush of day  
When the heat of a rolling world can be turned away_

Blaine's voice is deep and velvety and Kurt is so distracted by it he almost misses his part.

_An enchanted moment, and it sees me through  
It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you_

The entire club joins for the chorus and Kurt watches as Sally pulls Burt to his feet and forces him to dance. They're the only two on the floor since it's the first dance and Kurt knows Burt was nervous about this. He even went so far as to ask Kurt for dancing lessons. If there was any anxiety left before tonight it's all gone now; the only expression on his face now pure joy.

After they finish that song the boys launch into "You Shook Me All Night Long" which was intended to get other people up and dancing, and it succeeds. By the end of the song most of the people are on the dance floor including Nick and Jeff who were doing some pretty wild moves. Next it's the girl's turn up and they sing Train's "If It's Love". It was a beautiful rendition and Kurt almost wishes he could have sung that instead of the ACDC number. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" is their last song and when it's finished it's greeted by the biggest applause yet.

Mr. Schue gets up from the piano bench, grabs the microphone, and says, "Let's give one more round applause for the New Directions!"

The guests cheer again and everyone takes their bows. Once the noise has subsided Kurt hurries over to the table in the corner so he can plug in his IPod before the silence gets to be awkward.

"Hold up one second, there's still one more song to sing." Kurt recognizes Blaine's voice but surely he couldn't have said that. He turns to stare at him, mouth open, and sees Blaine flicking his gaze between him and the wedding goers. "This song is dedicated to Kurt Hummel. He basically planned this entire wedding in one month while going to school and everything else. But more than that, I want to welcome Kurt as my new brother. We've only known each other for a little while but he's one of the most amazing people I've ever met and one of my best friends. So this one's for you." Most of the speech was directed towards the guests but the last part Blaine says with his eyes on him and they haven't left since.

Kurt's breath is caught somewhere in his throat and he can't breathe properly. The music starts and Kurt recognizes the song immediately. It takes everything he has not to cry and they're not tears of joy.

_His eyes, his eyes  
make the stars look like they're not shining  
His hair, his hair  
falls perfectly without him trying  
He's so beautiful  
And I tell him everyday (yeahh)_

As Blaine sung he walked slowly toward Kurt and now he's in front of him extending his hand. The entire room is looking at them and whispering about how this is the sweetest thing ever so Kurt has no choice. He musters up a smile and takes Blaine's hand, letting him pull him away from the corner and onto the dance floor.

_I know, I know  
When I compliment him he won't believe me  
And it's so, it's so  
Sad to think that he don't see what I see  
But everytime he asks me "Do I look okay?"  
I say_

Kurt stares at Blaine's forehead so he appears to be looking him in the eye even though he's not.

_When I see your face  
There's not a thing that I would change  
'Cause you're amazing (amazing)  
Just the way you are  
And when you smile (smile)  
The whole world stops and stares for a while  
'Cause boy you're amazing  
Just the way you are Yeah_

The tears are back but he manages to blink them away before they fall. He honestly can't believe Blaine is doing this to him. Blaine broke his heart and Kurt is trying so hard to move on but how can he be expected to do that when Blaine sings him something like this?

_His lips, his lips  
I could kiss them all day if he'd let me  
His laugh, his laugh  
He hates but I think it's so sexy  
He's so beautiful  
And I tell him everyday_

Lips. Kurt can't start thinking about Blaine's lips. If he does that then he'll remember all the kisses they've shared and that is a gateway to thinking about everything else that happened between them.

By this point Blaine realizes that Kurt won't look at him and he frowns but keeps singing. When the song finally ends, Kurt steps away from Blaine as soon he can and stands there awkwardly as everyone around him claps. Blaine has the smile back on his face but his eyes are full of worry and he keeps glancing at Kurt through his peripheral vision. Kurt planned on waiting until everyone went back to dancing before casually making his way to the bathroom put he just can't wait. Before his brain can even process what's happening he's shoving his way through the crowd and running out the door and into the hallway. He sees the bathroom and goes into the girl's room, hoping that Blaine won't follow. Hunching over the sink, Kurt lets himself cry.

"Kurt?" a concerned voice asks through the door. He ignores it in the hopes that it will go away but Blaine's pushing open the door and walking in a second later. "Kurt what's wrong, what's the matter?"

Kurt laughs humorlessly and wipes his eyes. "What's the matter? _You're _the matter. You say you want to be with me but then say it has to be a secret. Then you say we can tell people about us but before we do you break up with me. You say you still want to be friends, but only friends, and then sing me a love song in front of a bunch of people! What am I suppose to think?"

"I…" Blaine trails off and looks confused, as if he never thought of this. "I'm sorry," he finally says, bowing his head ashamedly. "I wasn't thinking straight. I just wanted to show you how much you mean to me."

Kurt pushes off the sink and crowds into Blaine space, forcing him to move backwards until his back is pressed against the stall door. "Do you still like me?" he asks in a low, almost menacing voice. Blaine squirms against the door and tries to move away but Kurt puts an arm out to stop him. "Well?"

"Yes," he whimpers.

Kurt surges forward and presses his lips against Blaine's. The forces knock Blaine's head back against the door but he doesn't seem to notice. Blaine gasps and Kurt takes the opportunity the thrust his tongue in his mouth causing Blaine to groan. He lifts his arms up and Kurt thinks it's to pull him closer but he actually slowly pushes him away. Kurt complies and they both stand there for a few minutes trying to catch their breath.

"Sorry," Kurt pants, even though he's not that sorry.

Blaine shakes his head fervently. "No, you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm to one who should be sorry. I want this but I…. I just-"

"Can't," Kurt finishes for him. "Yeah, I know, whatever."

"You deserve better," Blaine says quietly.

"You're right. But I don't want better." And with that Kurt storms out of the bathroom in an exit that would make Rachel Berry proud.

Once in the hallway, he takes a few calming breathes before putting on a brave face and entering the reception area. I few people take notice of his return but only his dad approaches him. "What happened? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's great. I just got a little dizzy from singing and dancing so soon after eating."

Burt gives him a skeptical look and asks, "Where's Blaine?"

Kurt shrugs and looks around the room as if he's searching for him. "No idea. He came to the bathroom to check on me but then I figured he would come back here." At that moment Blaine enters the room and Kurt nods his head at him. "Oh, there he is." Burt opens his mouth to respond but Kurt doesn't let him have the chance. "Seriously dad, everything's fine. Go, enjoy your wedding, this is a happy day."

Burt scrunches up his eyes and stares at him for a moment before nodding slowly. "Alright. But if you need anything let me know."

Kurt nods and smiles and assures him he will until Burt walks back over to a worried looking Sally. He enjoys silence that comes with being alone but it doesn't last long.

"Hey Kurt! Nice to see again!" Nick and Jeff are suddenly on either side of him, wearing a pair of matching grins.

"That was quite an exit you made," Jeff comments.

"I wasn't feeling well."

"Well I hope you're feeling better now because look!" Jeff points excitedly to a group of waiters who are bringing the cake out from the kitchen.

"Come on!" Nick shouts as he and Jeff tear off towards the cake. Kurt lets out a genuine laugh and follows behind them. They might just be the distraction he needs to get through the rest of the night.

* * *

**The first song was "Marry You" by Bruno Mars**

**The second song was "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John**

**And the last one was "Just the Way You Are" also by Bruno Mars**


	16. Chapter 16

**Are you guys okay? I know it's been a rough week for us klainers. I won't go into too many details about my personal feelings on the episode by know this: Blaine made a mistake but he still loves Kurt so I have faith they'll get through this**

**Again, I wish this could be a fluffy chapter for you guys but we're not quite there yet. We're close though! So without further ado...**

* * *

Kurt can't remember the last time he woke up on his own accord rather than to the sound of his obnoxiously cheery alarm. Glancing at the clock, he startles a little because it's almost noon. Never has he slept this late when in full health; although between the emotional stress of last night and the sheer exhaustion from staying up as late as he did, he's not sure he'll count this. The couple left right after the reception last night so starting today, Kurt has the house to himself for a week. Kurt laughs to himself, thinking about all the things a normal teenager would do with this situation, but then the smile slide off his face. If he and Blaine were still together, than maybe they would have been taking advantage… Rubbing his hands over his face, Kurt sits up and wills the thoughts to go away.

Unfortunately, today can't be the rest and relaxation day he hoped it could be. Most of his fellow seniors stopped bothering with homework now that it's the second semester but with NYADA not making decisions until later than most schools, he needs to keep up his grades. Sleeping in felt great, but he can't waste anymore time, so he gets started right away. He works most of the afternoon, only stopping to get snacks occasionally, and is near finished when his phone buzzes. Kurt picks it up and as he sees the name his heart begins to race. Reluctantly, he opens the message and reads:

_Hi Kurt, my grandmother wanted me to invite you over for dinner tonight, would you liked to come?_

Quickly, so as not to over think this, Kurt types back:

_Sorry, can't, tons of homework. Send my thanks to Irene!_

Putting the phone down (and turning it off so as not to hear if Blaine responds), Kurt walks back to his desk and takes a few calming breathes. Every time he remembers the scene in the bathroom last night, a flood of emotions wash over him. Embarrassment, sadness, anger, even a pinch of joy. After all, Blaine did say he still has feelings for him. But he also said he wasn't going to act on them, and considering they're now stepbrothers (Kurt still cringes at the word), it's probably for the best. His heart, however, isn't listening to logic given the fact that even though the list of reasons Kurt should give up greatly outnumbers the other side, he can't do it. Not won't, _can't. _And he doesn't think he'll ever be able to as long as he knows Blaine wants this too.

* * *

Kurt's hands are shaking so hard he misses three times before finally clicking on right number.

"Hello this is Rachel Berry," she answers, after what feels like an eternity.

"It's me," Kurt breathes, his breath coming shallow puffs.

"Kurt? What's wrong?"

Kurt closes his eyes and forces himself to breath normally. "I got my NYADA letter…"

"What?!" Rachel screeches. "Oh my god, mine's probably in the mailbox right now!"

Rachel's voice fades on the last few words and is replaced by a rustling noise that lasts for all of thirty seconds. "My dads said nothing came for me." Her voice is small and cautious and Kurt knows she's trying not to panic. "Well anyways, what did yours say?!"

"I haven't opened it yet."

"Why not?"

"I didn't want to do it alone," Kurt admits.

Rachel hums and says, "I can be over there in ten minutes if you'd like."

Kurt shakes his head and then realizes Rachel can't see him. "No thanks Rach, I honestly don't think I can wait that long. Being on the phone is enough."

"Well open it!" Rachel says impatiently.

"Okay, okay," Kurt responds, turning the phone on speaker and then setting down on the kitchen table. Taking the letter in his hands, he carefully opens it as to not rip the envelope as much as he can. He rereads the first line three times to make sure he's not mistaken and but then has to stop because the tears are blurring his vision. "I'm a finalist," he whispers.

"What? You're a finalist! Kurt, that's great!" Rachel shouts and he picks back up the phone, smiling brightly.

"Thanks I- I don't even know what to do!" he exclaims. He settles for doing a little dance around the room, but it doesn't seem to fairly express the happiness he's feeling. Rachel responds with something, and Kurt doesn't catch it but he does notice a tone change. "What was that?"

"I said, this probably means I'm not a finalist." Her voice is quavering, and Kurt hears her sniffling softly.

"That's crazy. If I'm a finalist then you're definitely a finalist."

"I mean... you would think so," she starts and Kurt rolls his eyes, determined not to let her ego ruin his mood. "But you never know with these things."

"I'm sure you'll get your letter any day now," he tries to assure her, although he knows it's futile. When Rachel gets like this, there's no convincing her of anything.

"Hopefully. Well I have to go, my dads are calling me, but uh... c-congratulations."

Rachel hangs up without saying goodbye but the simple congratulations at the end is more than Kurt expected. After one more happy dance and a small, celebratory squeal, Kurt dials his dad's number to tell him the news.

* * *

By Wednesday, Rachel still hasn't received her NYADA letter, and she's a mess. Kurt can't think of any conceivable way Rachel wouldn't get in considering her grades and multitude of extracurricular activities, but even he is beginning to worry. Neither of them know whether they send out letters to those who get rejected, so her constant topic of discussion is when she should give up.

"I mean it's been a week, I think I better just give it up and accept the fact that I'll be stuck in Lima forever," she says, finishing with a dramatic slam of her locker.

"First of all, it's been three days not a week, and second, even if you don't get in NYADA, which I don't thing will happen by the way, it's not the end of your dreams. You can still come to New York and reapply next year and go to auditions and all of that." Rachel opens her mouth to argue but Kurt cuts her off. "No. We're not arguing about this again. It's all we've talked about for the past three days and worrying is not going to make the letter come any faster."

Rachel crosses her arms and sighs loudly but keeps her mouth shut. Then she sees Finn and immediately perks up, practically running across the hall to give him a sloppy, and disgusting in Kurt's mind, kiss. "You two seem to be doing better," he comments, when Rachel finally pries her lips away from Finn's and comes back to join him.

"We are," Rachel confirms with a smile on her face.

"So he was totally fine with the whole not marrying him thing?" he asks skeptically. "Because that seems like it would probably put a damper on the whole relationship thing."

"Mr. Schue!" Rachel suddenly calls out at their teacher who is a few steps in front of them. "Sorry," she says over her shoulder, "I have to talk to him about something."

This seems weird to Kurt, considering they were on their way to Glee in the first place put he doesn't give it much thought. He still needs to work on how to get Blaine back. He's been avoiding Blaine's, or really Irene's, offers to come over for dinner all week because he doesn't want to do anything until he has a solid plan.

He thinks all through Glee, ignoring Mr. Schue's attempts at getting them to learn some big life lesson, but still has nothing. Kurt's broken out of his thoughts by a slight tap on the shoulder, and he looks up to find half the glee club out the door and the other soon behind. He must have been more out of it than he thought. Looking to his left, he sees the source of the tap is none other than Blaine himself.

"Hey, could I get a ride home? Please?" He looks so vulnerable and anxious that Kurt wonders if it's possible to be eaten alive by guilt because if so, he thinks Blaine will be. Since the wedding, he's been sending Kurt these absolutely devastated looks, and Tina tells him it's because he's guilty. She doesn't know the specifics, but apparently he told her he did something "completely awful" to Kurt and "wouldn't be surprised if he hated him and never wanted to speak to him again". Kurt's not sure how he came to that conclusion, considering he told Blaine he still wanted him even after their fight but for some reason that's what thinks.

"Where's your car?" Kurt asks and then immediately cringes because it came out sounding like he doesn't want to give him a ride.

"It's broken down. But I can call somebody else or walk or something like that, it fine," he says quickly.

"No, no it's fine. Let's go." Kurt stands and strides out of the room, Blaine quick on his heels. The silence is awkward, and Kurt takes out his phone to pretend and text somebody.

"So, I heard you're a NYADA finalist," Blaine says, smiling softly at Kurt.

Kurt sucks in a breath and slips his phone back into his pocket. "Yeah, how'd you know that?"

"My mom told me. Apparently your dad hasn't stopped talking about it since he found out. Not that I blame him. It's an amazing accomplishment." Blaine chuckles slightly, and Kurt looks away to hide his blush. Still, after all this time, Blaine still has that kind of effect on him.

"Thank you."

Once they get in the car, Kurt leaves the radio silent as a way to force the conversation to continue.

"My grandma still wants you to come over for dinner…" Blaine trails off, glancing over at Kurt but then quickly looking away. "Something about promising your dad she'll look after you and everything."

"I guess I'll force myself through it, if only to appease my father." Kurt offers Blaine a smile so he knows he's only joking, and he gets one in return. "Now what about you? Have you heard anything from NYU? Or any other schools?" he adds. With them not being together anymore, who knows what Blaine's number one school is.

Blaine shakes his head, "Not yet. But that's to be expected. And I'm still planning on going to NYU." Kurt can feel his eyes on him, but he only meets them for a second before returning his eyes to the road.

"Can't say I expected that." Kurt tries for nonchalance but it comes out a bit squeaky.

"Like I said, NYU was always my dream school, there were just some extra benefits before. Well, actually, they're still there."

Kurt turns to look at Blaine, to discern what that means, but he's staring at the window. Part of him wants to slap Blaine for toying with his emotions like this, but he reasons with himself that this is good. If Blaine still thinks of him like that, than it's only a matter of time before he comes to his senses.

They stay quiet for the rest of the ride, both of them lost in thought. When he pulls up in front of Blaine's house he has to cough a few times before Blaine starts to move.

"What time should I come over?" Kurt asks as Blaine reaches into the back to grab his pack.

Blaine freezes and whips up to look at Kurt, his eyes bright but confused, but they go back to normal a second later. "For dinner, right, um six? Maria gets hungry so we usually eat pretty early."

"That's fine," Kurt says, waving off Blaine's apologetic tone. "See you then."

* * *

"Alright, the gigs up," Irene announces after they've said grace and are sitting down to eat. "What's going on around here? You guys are siblings now so you better stop tiptoeing around each other."

"They're in a fight," Maria says casually, and Kurt begins to choke. He had taken a sip of water to avoid responding to Irene but now it's threatening to come back up. If the gagging noises coming from the seat next to him are any indication, it seems Blaine is having the same trouble.

"Maria, what do you mean?" Blaine asks, his voice scratchy.

She rolls her eyes and says, "It's not rocket science Blaine. You two use to hangout all the time but now you never do." She pauses a moment and then continues softly, "And you're sad. You don't smile like you use to."

Silence falls over the table as no one, not even Irene, knows how to respond. The evening had been going fine. Granted, it had only been about ten minutes, but still.

"That's uh, that's not true. We're still friends, aren't we Kurt?" Blaine widens his eyes at Kurt and gives a small nod as if Kurt didn't know how to respond.

"Of course we are," he says breezily. "Things have just been so crazy lately we haven't had time to see as much of each other. Plus, I have a boyfriend now, so a lot of my time is spent with him." Kurt shouldn't have said the last part, and he instantly regrets it, but the look on Blaine's face makes it kind of worth it. His mouth drops open and his eyebrows shoot up comically high.

"I-huh what?" he stutters, and Kurt barely suppresses a smirk. Maybe making him jealous is the way to go.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you? I met him at the Lima Bean a few weeks ago. He's a real sweet guy."

Blaine continues to stare at him for the rest of dinner which is quiet and just a tad on the awkward side. When the dinner is over, Kurt stands to leave but Blaine stops him.

"Wait! Uh, I need some help on that physics… thing," he says lamely. Kurt doesn't question though and follows him to his room.

"So," Blaine says once the door is closed, "that whole boyfriend thing. That was just a cover up right?"

Kurt could torture him, could draw it out, but he doesn't. "Yes," he confirms and Blaine's face floods with relief. "Not that you should care," he can't help but add somewhat bitterly.

"Kurt," he says in pained voice. "Everything I said at the wedding is true. I wish… I wish things were different, but you've just got to take what life gives you, you know?"

No, Kurt thinks, he doesn't know. He doesn't want to take what life gives him, he wants to go out there and get what he wants. And right now, what he wants is Blaine. He can't force him, though, and he wouldn't want to. So for now, he waits.

Kurt shakes his head slightly in response and moves towards the door. "Yes well I really must be going. I'll see you around." And with that, Kurt is out in the hallway and on his way to freedom. But before he can get there, Irene intercepts him.

"Leaving so soon?"

Kurt hums and spouts off some redundant excuse about having homework. She nods and he moves past her to get to the front door but when he's halfway out, she says one more thing.

"You'll work it out eventually."

Turning, Kurt gives her a perplexed look, urging her to elaborate.

"You and Blaine," she says simply. "And don't worry, I won't tell your dad about your _boyfriend._"

From the way she says it, Kurt knows she doesn't buy it. He's unsure of how to respond. Opening and closing his mouth a few times, he finally settles on, "I-okay. Thanks again!" before leaving the house.

* * *

At school the next morning, Kurt is greeted with a huge hug from Rachel. "I got it! I got it! I got it!" she yells as she waves a letter in her face. It takes Kurt a minute but when he figures it out he smiles.

"NYADA? I told you so."

"You were right! Wow," she continues after a pause, "that felt weird to say."

Kurt smacks her lightly but it's all in fun. "When did you get it?"

"This morning," she answers but then her eyes grow dark. "Well technically, the letter came yesterday but my dad forgot to give it to me. Can you believe that?"

"Honestly? Yes." Kurt assumes it was LeRoy because he is one of the nicest, but also one of the most forgetful people he knows. He's the guy who goes to the airport and forgets his entire suitcase.

Rachel laughs and agrees with him, but the smile fades as something catches her eye. Following her gaze, Kurt sees she's looking at Finn. "What?" he questions. "Is he not happy for you?"

"No, no," she assures him, "he's been very supportive. It's just… well you know how I've been having a hard time this week?"

Kurt nods, not liking where this is going.

"Well um, I was feeling pretty down, and Finn asked again and well...I didn't exactly say no."

Kurt needs no clarification on what Finn asks and his jaw clenches tightly. "By didn't exactly say no do you mean to tell me you said yes?"

"Yes," she squeaks quietly.

"And now you regret it." Lifting his fingers up to rub his temples, he wishes he had something for the inevitable headache that will be coming on.

"No!" she protests, "I just…" she trails off and eventually, Kurt realizes she isn't going to say anything else.

"Rachel," he groans, putting his face in his hands.

"No, this is good," she insists. "I love him and he loves him and who doesn't love weddings?"

A bunch of people come to his mind, most prominently Rachel's parents (although he guesses they'd be more against her getting married than weddings in general), but he stays silent. "Rachel," he begins seriously, "I will talk you out of this wedding if it's the last thing I do."

* * *

**And we'll leave it at that for today! I'd love to hear all of your thoughts on this chapter as well as last week's episode so shoot me line! Also, *cough* *cough*, I wrote a little future!klaine one shot that deals a little bit with what happened in 4x04. Don't worry though, it's actually not angsty! So if you want to check it out it's called "Through It All" and it's on my page. Okie dokie, see everyone next week!**


	17. Chapter 17

**We're almost done guys! Just one more chapter after this and then most likely an epilogue but it will be short. I'll save all the major gushing for next week but just know I appreciate all you readers and reviewers more than you know.**

**Also a huge thanks to user iibelieveiinyou (from scarvesandcoffee) for giving me the inspiration for one of the scenes in this chapter! **

* * *

"Married?!" The flabbergasted and disgusted tones of his fellow peers is not unlike Kurt's own reaction. Yes, a few people look excited, most notably Sugar, but the consensus seems to be against it. Rachel holds up her hand to show off the ring and it catches a few girls' interests, including Mercedes, but Kurt is quick to yank her back into her seat.

"No way," he hisses. "We can't show any signs of approval."

Mercedes looks longingly over at the group surrounding Rachel but doesn't move again. "I mean she seems pretty set on it, Kurt. As her friends we need to support her."

"As her friends we need to stop this madness before she makes a decision she'll regret for the rest of her life."

"I agree," Quinn says, dropping into the seat behind them.

Kurt startles and doesn't respond right away. He didn't think Quinn was that close to Rachel, or to anyone for that matter, but the look in her eyes in sheer determination.

"Well okay," he says slowly, "good."

Before he can elaborate on what exactly the three (or really two) of them can do, a jarring noise sounds from the corner of the room. Sugar is banging random piano keys and keeps doing so until she has everyone's attention. "Perfect," she purrs. "I just wanted to announce that in honor of my favorite holiday, I will be hosting a Valentine's Day part at Breadstix on Friday! Oh and also, no singles allowed! They're depressing."

Kurt wants to say he doesn't care, that this is just some stupid party for some stupid holiday he hates, but the ache is there. Valentine's Day may normally be a cheap, commercial way to celebrate love but this whole party just serves as another reminder of what Kurt lost. When Sugar had mentioned the 'no singles' part Kurt unconsciously looked over at Blaine and he did the same. Their eyes had met for only a moment before the both turned away. Kurt still isn't making any progress, and while he's not giving up per say, he is becoming a bit discouraged. It's been almost two months since they broke up and while Blaine admitted to having feelings still, it doesn't seem to have changed anything.

Over the weekend Kurt actually met another gay guy in the record store and they chatted a bit. His name is Chandler and he was cute but, try as he might, Kurt couldn't help but think he didn't hold a candle to Blaine. Kurt had given him his number, though, and they exchanged a few texts before Kurt put a stop to it all. He wasn't an idiot and he knew where this was going. Every time he tried to imagine a date with Chandler he ended up focusing on what Blaine would think when he found out. Would he jealous? Kurt knew he would. So more importantly, would it be enough to get Blaine to change his mind? Or would it encourage him in his efforts to let Kurt move on? This went on for a little while before Kurt realized how absolutely cruel it all was. He was using Chandler, leading him on, to make another guy jealous. Not knowing how to tell Chandler the truth without hurting him, he opted to tell a little white lie about being excited for a date he had coming up. That took the wind out of Chandler's sails and eventually he stopped texting all together.

Focusing in, Kurt pushes thoughts of Blaine away as he listens to Joe and Sam talk excitably about their new service for wooing people via song for the small price of five dollars.

* * *

Rachel and Mercedes had pleaded with Kurt in an attempt to get him to go to Sugar's party but he refused. He wasn't going to be the one lone kid without a date because no matter how many times they assured him Sugar was just kidding about the whole thing. Sitting at home and marathoning Project Runway is a much more enjoyable way to spend his time and he's just spotted the remote on the floor half under the couch when the doorbell rings. Kurt's face scrunches up as he ponders who it could be and as he walks to the door he desperately hopes it's not his friends in one last ditch effort to get him to go to the party.

"Hey! I'm come bearing Chinese food," Blaine greets, holding up the Panda Express bag for emphasis.

"Uhhh…" Kurt stares at the boy, his heart thumping, unable to come up with a response.

"I know this is kind of out of the blue, but I saw your car was here so I knew you didn't go to Sugar's party and I just thought since neither of us were doing anything we should hangout." Blaine's smile had begun to falter at Kurt's expression and by the end of his explanation it fades completely.

"So lemme get this straight… you were watching my house to see if I was going to leave?" This is better. Teasing and flirting is something Kurt knows how to do.

"That's what brothers do! We look out for each other," he protests.

"No Blaine, that's what stalkers do," Kurt counters. He manages to keep his tone light even though the word brother sent a wave of disappointment through him.

"Yes well," he hesitates, "can I come in? It's just that it's pretty cold out he-"

"Oh right yes of course!" Kurt jumps out of the way and waves Blaine inside, closing the door behind him. "Sorry about that," he mutters.

"It's not a problem," he says, rubbing his arms to bring the warmth back to them. Despite it being well below freezing, Blaine is adorned in only a lightweight long-sleeved t-shirt.

Kurt starts walking back into the main room and says, "My plan was to catch up on the last few Project Runway episodes but if you want to watch something else that's fine." He stops moving and turns around when he notices Blaine hasn't followed. Quirking an eyebrow, Kurt tilts his head at Blaine who hasn't moved from the kitchen.

"You don't- we can eat in there?" he asks hesitantly.

Kurt smiles and nods, patting the coffee table lightly before brushing past Blaine to grab two cans of iced tea from the fridge.

"You better get used to our house rules considering they'll be yours tomorrow," Kurt says once he returns to the couch. Picking up the remote he begins searching the dvr list until he sees what he's looking for.

"I know it's only been a couple months but it feels weird to be leaving my house. It already feels like more of a home than my old one."

Kurt, who had just taken a big bite of chow mien, chews quickly and swallows so he can ask Blaine to elaborate.

Blaine looks down at his hands, which he's wringing in his lap, and takes a deep breath before explaining. "It's just, yes I grew up there, and I have some good memories of my early childhood, but I hardly lived there those last few years. I boarded at Dalton and didn't come home that often. I didn't even realize how much I had shut myself off from my family until I moved out here. It's been nice being with them so often these last few months."

Kurt nods, feeling like there's more to it than that, but doesn't comment. "Well trust me, one week living with my dad and you'll be begging to go back and live in the solitude of Dalton."

After that they lapse into a comfortable silence which is only broken when Kurt has an opinion on something that can't go unexpressed. They're still there a few hours later when Sally and Burt get back from their dinner. They seem surprised but pleased that the two of them are hanging out and Kurt wonders if maybe their falling out didn't go as unnoticed as he'd hoped.

* * *

They all rise bright and early the next morning to get a jump on the day. The Anderson's (Sally would soon be a Hummel but the paperwork was still being processed) had spent the past week packing everything into boxes so all that needed to be done was to move them, plus the furniture they were keeping, into the Hummel household. Kurt, ever mindful of Burt's health scare the previous year, had wanted to hire some help. Burt refused but Kurt wouldn't let it go until he agreed to bring Donny along.

The two of them pull up into the driveway and are greeted excitedly by Sally and Maria. Maira quickly tugs Burt off toward the pile of boxes already in the yard insisting that her stuff be the first things loaded. Blaine is standing off the side still in his pajamas and looking adorably rumpled.

"Rough night?" Kurt asks with a smirk.

"My nightmares featuring clashing patterns and sleazy cocktail dresses kept me up," he deadpans. Kurt laughs loudly and Blaine cracks a smile too.

"Alright you two," Burt calls at them, "enough chatter. We got some boxes to move!"

Kurt rolls his eyes but Blaine sends him a little salute and immediately begins loading boxes into Kurt's Navigator. It's the biggest car any of them have so it will have to do until Donny shows up with his pickup truck. When the car is full to the brim Burt drives it down the street and the others follow on foot. This goes on for about a half an hour until Donny arrives. Once he's there the group gets into a pretty solid rhythm. Kurt and Blaine stay at the Anderson's old house and load up the truck then Sally drives it to the Hummel's where Burt and Donny unload it.

Blaine's carrying an exceptionally heavy load across the lawn when Kurt hears a yelp and then a loud thump. Turning, he sees Blaine examining his shirt while the boxes he was carrying lay on the ground. Dropping his own boxes and hustling towards him Kurt asks, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine," he grumbles. "I ripped my shirt though." Blaine fingers are running over a long tear down the front of his shirt and he sighs loudly. Then, in one quick movement, he sheds the shirt completely.

A choked off noise comes from the back of Kurt's throat and he whispers "_How?" _He meant it more as a _oh my god how are you so attractive _but Blaine misinterprets.

"It snagged on the corner of the box, no big deal." He rummages one of the fallen boxes which happens to contain his clothes until he find something causal enough to be worn. It ends up being a pale yellow tank top which isn't all that different from not wearing a shirt at all. Gulping, he tears his eyes away from the beautiful sight and continues his journey to the car which is now waiting to be loaded.

By the time four o'clock rolls around they've managed to get everything into the house although it's a far cry from all being unpacked. Kurt lies on his bed and groans loudly for a third time. He had promised Rachel that he would help pick out a birthday present for Hiram today but now he regrets it completely. His whole body is soar and if it wasn't for the fact that he had to go he would have gone straight to sleep. He checks his phone and sighs before pushing himself up and out of bed.

He's about to push open the bathroom door when he registers the sound of the shower running. A panic sets in for about two seconds before he realizes it must be Blaine. The fact that he would be sharing a bathroom with two other people didn't occur to him and the thought does nothing to improve his mood. He's not really sure what shared bathroom politics are but he just needs to grab his toothbrush and there's a shower curtain so he knocks loudly and cracks the door open.

"Blaine? Don't worry it's just me I have to grab my tooth brush." Kurt finally steps all the way in and is opening up the cabinet when he hears a bunch of scrambling from behind the curtain.

"Kurt?" Blaine asks. His breathing is irregular and it almost sounds like he's panting.

"Yeah it's me," he answers feeling a bit uneasy. With the addition of Blaine's stuff he's having trouble finding what he needs. "Here got it! I'm leaving," he calls and starts to back out of the room.

A short, high pitched whine comes from the shower but it's quickly cut off and Blaine responds with a shaky "okay".

Frowning, Kurt leaves the bathroom and is just pulling the door closed when he hears one of the most wanton moans he's ever heard. He hastily shuts the door to muffle the sound but it's too late, he's already heard it. There's only one reason Blaine would be making a noise like that and the thought makes him light headed and his cock harden. Sending a short text to Rachel, he hurries off to his room to take care of the growing problem.

He does eventually make it to Rachel's house and she flounces to the car with her arms crossed. "What was that all about?"

"Something came up. And you're lucky I'm even helping you in the first place, I've been moving boxes all day."

Rachel concedes and the car ride to the mall is filled with idle chatter. They're searching through the used book store for the Guys and Dolls 1982 London Revival Edition, the only edition Hiram doesn't own, when Kurt's struck by a thought. He opens his mouth to say something to Rachel but she speaks first.

"I just don't think it's here," she pouts. "I know it was a long shot but it would seriously be the perfect gift."

"Keep looking. Or actually, why don't you go ask someone who works here. Maybe they have it in the back or something." Rachel nods and spins around to find an employee but Kurt puts a hand on her arm. "Wait one second, I want to ask you something. Do you think I should get Blaine something for his birthday?"

She stares at him for a second before whipping him with her purse. "Of course you should! If nothing else he's your brother now."

"I know," Kurt sighs. "It's just… what do you get for your ex-boyfriend whose now your step-brother who you're still in love with?"

Rachel giggles and Kurt sends her his best bitch face. "Sorry, sorry. You just sound like somebody on one of those horrid shows like Maury." She laughs again but then her eyes widen and she whips her head up to look a Kurt. "Wait, you're in love with him?!"

"What? No. Maybe. I don't know. It doesn't matter," Kurt says with a shake of his head. "I just need to know what to get him."

"A bow tie?" Rachel suggests. "He seems to wear a lot of those."

"Too generic. I want to get him something special, something that lets him know how I'm feeling."

"So basically you need a present that says 'I still love you but you're my step-brother now so that makes it a little awkward but I still want to make it work'."

"Yeah basically," Kurt says, managing a smile.

* * *

Blaine's birthday celebration is the first big event in the new and improved Hummel household. Kurt and Sally work together to make Blaine's favorite dinner, Carbonara, and a chocolate cake. It's different from how birthday celebrations use to go but Kurt doesn't mind so much. New family means new traditions. The addition of Sally, Blaine, and Maria into their home isn't as awkward as Kurt feared it would be. Being around Blaine all the time is going to take some getting used to and Kurt is glad they're at the very least friendly with each other these days.

After dinner is eaten Kurt brings the cake in and starts the singing. Maria adds in the appropriate _cha cha cha_-s and it makes Kurt smiles because he hasn't heard those in forever. Right before Blaine blows out the candles Sally heaves out a sob and Kurt startles, half leaving his seat.

"Don't bother," Blaine says, rolling his eyes, "she does this every year."

"He's right dear, I'm fine." She takes Kurt's hand in hers and pats it but the tears still shine in her eyes. "I just can't believe you're eighteen," she says softly. "You're not my baby anymore."

"I haven't been your baby in a long time," Blaine responds but his eyes soften. He leans over to hug her and whispers, "But I'll always be your son."

Sally sniffles a few more times but wipes her eyes and then claps her hands. "Alright, enough tears. Let's get this part started!"

The rest of the night is deemed "Family Game Night" and as lame as it sounds it's actually really fun. Kurt used to do something like this before his mom died but after that, with just two people, it really didn't work out so well. The game they choose is Apples to Apples and Kurt laughs so hard at Maria's choice of _Richard Nixon_ for _Virtuous_ that he has actual tears in his eyes.

As it gets later, Burt and Sally announce they're going to bed and they force an unhappy Maria to do the same. Kurt looks up from the magazine he'd been glancing through to find Blaine's eyes on his. Suddenly the silence between them seems electric and Kurt has no idea why. He stands up abruptly and says, "I'm going to go get your present, I'll be right back."

Digging through the back of his closet he pulls out the small box that contains the red and white striped bow tie he'd gotten. He was so unhappy about the choice, about the unoriginality, that he'd debated whether he should give it to him at all. He finds Blaine in the same position he left him in; sitting at the counter on one of the high stools.

"Here," he says handing Blaine the box. "I know it's not much but…"

"No Kurt, I love it," Blaine says, giving him a genuine smile. "I've been meaning to incorporate more red into my wardrobe."

"That's not all," Kurt starts and takes a deep breath to muster up the courage to continue. "I want you to know that everything I said still stands. It might not always, and I'll let you know if it doesn't, but for now, it does."

He doesn't need to specify what he's talking about because he knows Blaine gets it. The look on his face is unreadable, though, and eventually Kurt gives up trying figure him out and turns around to walk away. But before he gets far he hears the stool scrape against the floor followed by two feet hitting the ground and as he turns around he's met with a mouth full of Blaine.

* * *

**I actually was going to keep that last sentence and have it be the first one in the next chapter but I thought I'd give you all a little something to wet your appetites! Hope you liked this chapter, it's one of my favorites.**

**Oh and the inspired scene was the shower one so if you liked it you know who to thank ;)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Oh darlings, the end is nigh! But go on, read this, then we'll chat.**

* * *

His lips are everything he remembered, warm and soft and wet, but he doesn't let himself melt into them. Instead he pulls back after only a few seconds and stares openly at Blaine.

"Blaine-" he tries but he's cut off before he can say anymore.

"Wait no I get it- I'm sorry I just- I was going to but then you just looked so kissable- I know we need-"

Now it's Kurt's turn to interrupt him and he does so by placing his hand firmly over his mouth. "Shhh, enough babbling and tell me what this is all about."

Blaine nods sheepishly so Kurt pulls his hand away. "I talked to my mom. About my dad and all that stuff. I always knew logically that she didn't blame me but… I still feel guilty._ Felt,_" he corrects and Kurt squeezes his hand and offers him a smile. "But when we talked about it she told me their marriage was already coming apart and she was planning on leaving him anyway so it didn't really make a difference. And now she has Burt and she's happy so I guess it all kind of worked out in the end."

"It did," Kurt agrees then cautiously asks, "Did you want to talk about your dad? Like specifically? Because you've mentioned him a few times but never… If you don't want to that's fine," he adds at the way Blaine's face contorts.

"No," he shakes his head, "I think I should tell you. I want to tell you," he amends. "Well, as I'm sure you've guessed, my dad wasn't a-okay with me being gay. I didn't even mean to come out to him really, it was just bad luck. In seventh grade, pretty much as soon as I realized what I am, I told my mom. I didn't have many close friends so she was the only person I could turn to. It went unsaid that we were going to keep it between the two of us but one day my dad got home early from work and overheard my mom asking me if I thought any guys at school were cute. My dad," Blaine pauses and Kurt thinks he is trying to hold back the tears. He wants to pull Blaine to his chest and make him feel safe but he knows he needs to do this.

Taking a deep breath, Blaine starts again. "My dad looked like he bit into a lemon, his face full of disgust, when he turned to me and asked 'Is it true? Are you gay?' I told him I was and he sent me to my room before having a huge fight with my mom. That was the first of many to come over the next two years. He never spoke to me about it after that but I heard him discussing it with my mom a lot. He stuck around, though, until the end of my ninth grade year. There was an… incident at my school's Sadie Hawkins Dance."

"Sadie Hawkins Dance? How did you have a Sadie Hawkins Dance if you went to an all boys school?" Kurt asks before he can stop himself.

"My freshman year I didn't go to Dalton. I went to a public school in Westerville. They- the kids there guessed I was gay pretty much my first day so I lost the small group of friends I did have. I made a few new ones though, including another openly gay guy. The year itself wasn't too bad but then my friend and I, the gay one, decided to go to the Sadie Hawkins Dance together. While we were waiting for his dad to pick us up… these three guys came and beat the living crap out of us. We both had to spend a few days in the hospital and by the time I got out my dad was already gone."

Blaine turns away from Kurt as he finishes but Kurt quickly moves toward him and wraps his arms around his waist from behind. He whispers soothing words into his ear until he feels Blaine's muscles relax. And although Kurt feels terrible about it, if he's being honest, he's a little disappointed. Blaine knew about Kurt's experiences with bullying but he still never told Kurt about his. This could have been something they bonded over; or it at least would have made Kurt feel less alone in that sense.

"So what does this mean for us?" Kurt asks. He has a pretty good idea of where this is going but he doesn't want to jump to conclusions.

"Well, if you still want to, I'd like to try to be your boyfriend again. But for real this time with none of that _in secret _business. I totally get it if you don't want to, I've been a complete jerk these past few weeks, but I just… I was so consumed with guilt that I didn't have room for anything else.

"Well, you have been a pretty big jerk, but I forgive you," Kurt answers in a light tone. He knows he should be more angry, and that he should make Blaine wait and apologize more, but honestly, he's tired of being sad all the time. Blaine makes him ridiculously happy and he's not going to deny himself that.

Blaine smiles but shakes his head. "I don't deserve it."

"Yes," Kurt says, taking a step closer, "you do. Nobody should have to go what you went through, Blaine, and if that isn't enough to mess with a person I don't know what it. And if I ever see your dad in a dark alley…" Blaine's eyebrows shoot up and he lets out a little giggle that he quick stifles. "Anyway, you _do _deserve this Blaine. You deserve to be happy; we both do."

Closing the last bit of space between the two of them, Blaine leans his forehead against Kurt's and lets out a blissful sigh. "You're so amazing," Blaine says seriously and Kurt's heart soars.

He can feel the excitement building in his body but he doesn't let it take over. "But what about our situation? I mean we're technically step brothers now."

Blaine bites his lip and hesitates before saying, "It's not really… _conventional_, but I don't care if you don't."

"It's not me I'm worried about," Kurt responds and he looks over his shoulder to the staircase.

"We will need to tell our parents," Blaine states and Kurt rolls his eyes.

"Yeah I think that's pretty obvious," he says, nudging Blaine's shoulder. "Come on let's go."

Eyes wide, Blaine resists Kurt's tug. "Right now?" he asks incredulously.

"Right now," Kurt confirms and this time Blaine follows him.

When they reach the door Kurt lifts his arm to knock but hesitates and looks at Blaine. He grabs Kurt's free hand and gives it a squeeze before nodding. Keeping a hold on Blaine's hand, Kurt knocks and pushes open the door.

"Burt, Sally," he calls in warning, half hoping they'll be asleep. This needs to be done but now he's kind of wishing he'd suggested they wait until tomorrow.

"Hey kiddo, what's up?" Burt shifts into a more upright position and mutes the TV before focusing in on his son. The room is dark, with only the light from TV screen glowing, but Kurt still catches the way Burt's eyes widen at their intertwined hands. He shares a look with Sally that Kurt can't make out in the darkness.

"Blaine and I, we're-"

"We're together," Blaine finishes in a more certain tone than Kurt had. Glancing over, they share a small smile before turning back to their parents.

"Together?" Burt asks, his eyebrows shooting up. "When did this happen?"

"Recently… but also not that recently."

"Kurt I'm not in the mood for your riddles right now I…" he trails off as Sally reaches over and puts a hand on his arm.

"I think what Burt is trying to say is that we're a little confused. We thought this might come up but it seems a little sudden."

"Wait, you thought this might come up?" Blaine asks in surprise.

"You two aren't exactly sly when it comes to hiding your interest," Burt replies and Kurt is glad the dark is hiding his blush.

"Look," Kurt starts, "I know we have a lot of explaining to do, and we'll do that, but for tonight we just wanted to know… is this okay?"

Burt looks to Sally and she gives him a little nod before he says, "Yes, it's fine. Like Sally said, we prepared for this."

Kurt feels a warmth spreading through his body and for the first time since Blaine kissed him he lets the truth of what's happening wash over him.

"But be prepared," he dad says, ripping though his little happy bubble, "tomorrow we are going to have a long talk about this and some ground rules are going to be set. I don't want a repeat of what I walked in on a few months ago."

"Dad!" Kurt hisses and he hears Sally chuckle softly.

"It's true," Burt says, standing his ground. "No off to bed with you two."

They exit the room still holding hands and once the door is safely closed Kurt lets out the little squeal he's been holding in. He leans over and gives Blaine a peck on the cheek before saying, "That went pretty well!"

"Hmm I would say so," Blaine hums, he eyes flicking down to Kurt's lips.

Kurt sees the look and gives Blaine a mischievous smile before pulling him towards his room.

"Uh Kurt, what are we doing?" he asks as Kurt ushers him in and closes to door.

"You heard my dad. Tomorrow rules are going to be set so this is going to be a lot harder to pull off. We need to take advantage."

"Kurt," Blaine starts to protest, "he also specifically said he wants none of this. What if he comes to check on us?"

"Then we better make it quick." Kurt closes the small distances between the two of them and immediately latches on the Blaine's neck. He kisses and nips at it until Blaine's breathy noises reach a volume level too loud. Kurt shushes him and motions at the door with his head.

Blaine blushes and apologizes. "Right, sorry. Shall we… over there?" he asks, indicating to the bed.

Allowing Blaine to push him down, Kurt spreads his legs so he can settles between them. When their lips meet everything is hot and dirty as tongues and teeth are used as much as possible. They've both been waiting for this for so long and now that it's here they can't get enough.

"… I never stopped."

Kurt, completely unable to concentrate on anything but Blaine's lips, only catches the end of his words so he breaks the kiss for a moment. "What?"

"Loving you. I never stopped loving you. Even all that time we were apart. I love you." Blaine's words come out disjointed because he's so out of breath but the message is clear.

Kurt resists Blaine's efforts to kiss him again so he can think of a reply when he realizes he's overanalyzing. This isn't something he should be thinking about, it's something he should be feeling. And when he stops his thoughts he just knows. "I love you too."

A smile unlike any other lights up Blaine's face and Kurt's never seen him look any happier. He leans back in to continue kissing but this time Blaine pulls away. "Can I…" he trails off, fingering the buttons on Kurt's shirt. Kurt nods and Blaine tries to undo them but his hands are shaking so much it's taking way longer than normal. Finally Kurt takes pity on him and quickly undoes the rest and shrugs it off.

"You're so gorgeous," Blaine whispers as he slowly runs his hands up and down his chest. Kurt squirms underneath him partly because he's ticklish and partly due to Blaine's scrutiny.

"You're turn mister," he says and reaches for Blaine's shirt but before he can Blaine whips it off in one smooth motion. "Oh," Kurt gasps quietly. "That was quite impressive. You should put on a show sometime."

"Only for you," Blaine practically growls before sealing their lips together.

As they kiss Kurt starts to roll his hips up into Blaine's but between two pairs of pants there's not nearly enough friction. "Blaine- can I- is it okay if-" he stutters, reaching to undo the button on his jeans.

Blaine puts a hand over Kurt's and looks at him seriously. "Are you sure this is okay?"

"Yes, definitely," he assures him. "As long as you're okay with this."

"Absolutely," Blaine responds as he starts to take off his own jeans. "I've actually, um, been thinking about it a lot lately."

"In the shower?" Kurt asks with a smirk.

Blaine groans in embarrassment and Kurt's not proud of the way it makes his dick harden. "That was so embarrassing! I just- I was so close and then you walked in and your voice just added to the whole thing and wow, yeah, sorry about that."

"Don't apologize, it was hot. Actually, after I realized what you were doing, I went back to my room and did the same thing."

Blaine lets out a choked off noise and crashes their lips back together as he pushes Kurt into the mattress. With only a thin cotton layer between their erections they both have a harder time concentrating on the kiss and they end up just moaning into each other's mouths.

All of a sudden Blaine breaks the rhythm they have going and licks a strip down Kurt's chest until he reaches the waist band of his boxers. Looking up at him through his lashes, he starts to slowly pull them down, giving Kurt plenty of time to stop him. When he doesn't, Blaine tentatively sucks the head of his cock into his mouth.

"Oh, Blaine," Kurt moans as his head flops back onto the bed. He quickly props himself back up on his elbows, though, wanting to actually watch Blaine while he does it.

Blaine swirls his tongue around the slit a few times before managing to sink down a little lower. Despite Kurt's best efforts, his hips buck up causing Blaine to quickly pull back.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologizes. "You just, your mouth, it feels so _good_." It actually feels way more than just _good _but Kurt's brain isn't exactly up to operating speed at this point.

Blaine just chuckles lightly in response and Kurt's stomach twists at how deep it sounds. "It's fine," he says, his voice gravely, and he puts an arm over Kurt's hips to hold him down. He then goes back down on him and starts sucking on the head again. He doesn't take Kurt in very deep but he uses his hand to cover what can't get and Kurt's in no position to complain. It's only a few, mortifyingly short minutes later that Kurt has to warn Blaine of him impending orgasm.

Adding in a few last kitten licks to the slit, Blaine tightens his grip and stokes Kurt until he goes over the edge. Kurt calls out Blaine's name softly and his eyes flutter shut as the waves of pleasure wash over him. He's still shuddering slightly when he reopens his eyes to see Blaine fisting his own cock.

"Blaine," he scolds, "let me do that." Taking a deep breath, he sits up and pulls Blaine into his lap so he can easily reach him. Blaine starts groaning the second Kurt's fingers touch him and it's only a couple pumps and a twist until he reaches his own orgasm. Kurt keeps him in his lap and lazily strokes him through until he become too sensitive.

Letting out a content noise, Blaine leans over to lie down and brings Kurt with him. "I love you," he says, sounding half asleep.

"I love you too," Kurt responds as he rubs their noses together. "But you can't stay here. I'm not too sure how happy my dad would be to find us lying here naked and cover in…" Even after what they just did Kurt freezes on the last word.

"Come?" Blaine supplies with a laugh. "Yeah probably not. But just five more minutes okay?"

"Fine," Kurt concedes as he snuggles in closer.

* * *

Kurt wakes up with a pleasant feeling in his chest that only intensifies when he remembers the events of last night. True, Blaine is no longer with him as he did eventually sneak back into his own room, but he can still smell his scent on his pillow. The only thing that convinces him to get out of bed is the thought of seeing Blaine so a few hurried moments later he's dressed and heading to the bathroom. Just as he's raising his hand to knock Blaine comes out and they both jump a little in surprise.

"Good morning boyfriend," Blaine says and he leans forward to give Kurt a kiss.

Kurt sidesteps out of the way at the last minute and says, "Nope! I have morning breath."

"Don't care," Blaine pouts as he moves in again. They dance around each other a few more times before Kurt finally gives in and allows Blaine to give him a peck on the lips. It doesn't go any farther than that, however, because they're both giggling too hard to properly kiss.

"Can you guys move," a sleepy voice asks from behind them. They turn to find Maria, still in her pajamas, looking like a sleep walker.

"Oh sure," Blaine responds, stepping out of the way. "Maria, in case you were wondering, Kurt's my boyfriend now."

Maria stifles and yawns and responds in a bored tone, "Yeah I know."

Kurt shoots Blaine a confused look but he looks just as puzzled and asks, "What? How did you know?"

"Grandma told me. Actually," she begins, looking a bit more excited now, "she told me that he wasn't yet but only because you were being a _dumbass_." She lowers her voice for the last word and giggles as she says it.

Blaine's jaw drops open and he looks outraged while Kurt just stands there and laughs loudly.

* * *

At Kurt's request, he and Blaine keep the PDA to a minimum at school. They do hold hands a couple times and while they get a few nasty looks, it's nothing too bad. Kurt's not sure how long that will last but even of it does get worse they'll get through it. School only lasts a few more moths anyway and then they'll hopefully be off in New York together.

When they enter the choir room together at the end of the day everyone's a buzz with their new relationship status. They'd seen and told a few of their friends already and now anyone who didn't know is being filled in. Kurt can't keep the smile from stretching across his face and he honestly doesn't want to. This is the happiest he's felt, well _ever, _and he's not going to deny himself of this pleasure.

"Wait, but aren't you two like brothers?" Finn's voice cuts through the rest of the chatter and Kurt sighs internally.

But before he can say anything Puck says somewhat angrily, "Step off!"

Kurt gives him a grateful smile until he starts make lewd gestures at both of them. Finn, on the other hand, continues to voice his concerns about the couple until Kurt says, "Finn! You do know we're not _actually _brothers right? We're _step_ brothers."

"Kurt," Blaine soothes, wrapping an arms around his waist, "its okay."

"I know but he just- he's so- ugh!" he huffs.

Blaine ignores him and plants a short kiss on his neck. "I love you," he murmurs.

And just like that all his annoyance vanishes. He knows the two of them will be getting that question a lot and that it could be awkward sometimes but in Kurt's opinion there's never been anything more worth it. "I Love you too."

* * *

**Well... that's it. I hope you all liked the ending! I'm still toying with the idea of doing a short epilogue but nothing's set in stone. If there is one it will be posted next week, on Wednesday as always, and if there isn't then I'll just change this status to complete. My hesitation is that the epilogue won't really add to the plot and therefore I'm not sure it's necessary. But I want to hear what you all think! To epilogue or not to epilogue, this is the question. Leave your answer in reviews.**

**Alright now for the "thank you"s. First one goes to my lovely beta Robin who really helped keep me on track for this story. Secondly, I want to thank all you readers! Seriously guys, you are the best. Your reviews make me ridiculously happy and totally boost my confidence like you have no idea. This story may not seem popular when compared to others but it's by far the most successful one I've ever had and I'm so thankful to all of you for that.**

**What's next for me you may ask? Nothing planned yet. I have a long-ish one shot I want to do but school as well as college applications are picking up so I don't know when I'll get around to it.**

**So... review review review! I really want to know if you guys are satisfied with the ending! Check back next week for the epilogue but in case there isn't one thank you again and I'll see you around 3**


	19. Epilogue

**Surprise! I apologize to anyone who thought I wasn't doing an epilogue due to my lack of update yesterday. Sandy came and went bringing power outages and gas leaks and overall internet instability which is why I couldn't post this until now. But everything is all good now so here you go!**

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"Honey I'm home!" The drawling voice is followed by a loud slam as the door closes and Kurt hears footsteps approach their "bedroom". It's really just a small space with a bed, a desk, and a dresser that's enclosed by a privacy partition. In their excitement to find an affordable place in the city the three of them forgot to really consider the practicality of living without defined rooms.

Blaine pushes past the partition and kisses Kurt on the head with a loud "mwah."

"Blaine," Kurt grumbles, "I'm working."

"Oh come on," Blaine says, spinning the chair Kurt's in so he's face him. Kurt shouts in surprise at the movement and quickly fixes his boyfriend with an angry glare as he turns back to his sketches. "Kurt, it's break now! Enough work."

"It may be break for you but you know I still have work." After not getting in NYADA, Kurt searched for alternative options to no avail. Things were uncertain for a while but when it came time for Rachel and Blaine to leave to go to school, Kurt went with them. Once in New York he began searching again and he fell into something amazing. He got an internship at and he honestly couldn't be happier.

"And I also know that Isabelle is leaving for Paris tomorrow and you're getting three weeks off," Blaine counters. "Now come on," Blaine whispers in his hear causing Kurt to shiver, "we finally have to apartment to ourselves and we have some um, _catching up _to do."

Kurt exhales shakily and debates it for about two seconds. Rachel and Blaine's schedules are very similar causing them to be home at almost all the same times. This had made it increasing difficult to get alone time, as Blaine refuses to let Kurt tell her she needs to give them some, so they take advantage when they can.

Spinning away from the desk, Kurt jumps up to join Blaine on the bed and melts into the familiar smell and taste of him. Before things get too heated, though, they hear the tell-tale sign of a key jiggling in the lock. Kurt rolls off Blaine and lets out a frustrated sigh. Blaine gives him a hopeless shrug but Kurt can tell he's a little miffed as the exit into the main room to greet Rachel.

"Hmm was I interrupting something?" Rachel questions with raised eyebrows as she takes in their slightly rumpled appearance.

Blaine opens his mouth, probably to deny everything, so Kurt cuts him off. "Actually, yes."

Rachel lets out a tinkling laugh and says, "You're so bitchty when you need to get laid. But don't worry, I'm going out tonight."

Kurt notices the way Rachel bites her lip to try and hide the smile starting to form and that's new. "Going out tonight? With somebody special?"

"I hope so," Rachel admits and Kurt lights up. She and Finn had a bad breakup, several of them actually, but he thinks it's for good this time. He's glad to see her at least attempting to move on.

"Ooh is he cute? What's his name?" Blaine questions. His excitement is so adorable that Kurt scrunches up his nose and wraps his arm around his waist to pull him closer.

"Gorgeous and Brody," Rachel says with a smile, "but no more questions until after tonight! I don't even know him that well yet."

"Alright, well if he gives you any trouble just tell us and we've got your back." Blaine's tone is so serious that Kurt doesn't have the heart to tell him that they're probably the least intimidating people in the whole of New York.

Rachel rushes off to get ready for her date leaving Kurt and Blaine alone once again.

"You excited to go home next week?" Blaine asks.

"Yes," Kurt says nodding vigorously, "I miss them all so badly."

"Me too," Blaine responds as he leans over to give him a quick kiss on the nose. "You know, it's kind of nice not having to decide where to go over holidays. Or worry about meeting my boyfriend's parents."

"Agreed," Kurt responds, catching Blaine lips in a short kiss that his him chasing his mouth as he pulls away. "Eager are we?" Kurt teases.

"Oh be quiet," Blaine mumbles before grabbing the back of Kurt's head and sufficiently shutting him up.

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**Short, sweet, and to the point! Well this is it, the actual end, I hope you guys liked it. I've said it before but I'll say it again... thank you all so much! You guys keep me going :)**


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